Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 February 2024
380. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to review the issue of the recent councillor gratuity payment announced to be based on years of service, rather than a maximum limit of 20 years. [6115/24]
View answerOn 24 November 2023 I informed the President of the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) and the Chair of the Local Authority Members Association (LAMA) that approval in principle had been obtained from the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, to amend local authority elected members' gratuity scheme by linking the calculation of the gratuity payment to the amount of the annual remuneration received by elected members.
This followed a lengthy period of engagement with local authority elected members through their representative organisations, in which they indicated a preference for raising the base rate of payment used to calculate the retirement gratuity. The 2020 Independent Review of the Role and Remuneration of Local Authority Elected Members ('Moorhead Report') did not make any findings in respect of the length of reckonable service for the calculation of elected members' gratuities. I would note that the scheme that applies to members of the Oireachtas also allows for a maximum of 20 years when calculating retirement benefits.
Approval has been granted to provide for a maximum retirement gratuity for elected members of three times the annual remuneration payment, which is currently €28,724. All other conditions will remain the same, including the minimum 2 years and maximum 20 years of reckonable service. Elected members of local authorities will continue to benefit from further advantageous conditions including a minimum retirement age of 50, the universal and non-contributory nature of the gratuity scheme, and ex-gratia payments in respect of service prior to 4 May 2000. It is proposed that the new gratuity scheme would take effect at the local elections in June 2024.
There are no plans to revisit the maximum service limit for the calculation of gratuities payable to local authority elected members.
