Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
282. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a list of persons prohibited from running for local authority elections; if employees of a public body are barred from running in local elections (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8998/24]
View answer283. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if employment contracts made between contractors and a public body (details supplied) prohibit those contractors from running in local elections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8999/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 282 and 283 together.
Sections 13 and 13A of the Local Government Act 2001 provide for disqualifications from local authority membership.
Section 13(1)(h) provides that a civil servant who is not by terms of employment expressly permitted to be a member of a local authority shall be disqualified from local authority membership. The Department of Finance circular 09/2009 Civil Servant and Political Activity (ref.: E109/33/09) clarifies that civil servants in the craft, state industrial and manual grades and grades below clerical grades may stand for election to local authorities. The circular further clarifies that civil servants in the clerical grades and non-industrial grades with salary maxima equal to or below the Clerical Officer maximum may stand for election to local authorities, subject to permission being given by their Department. In addition, the circular states that special advisers and other personal appointees of Ministers, Ministers of State, Parliamentary office holders and the Attorney General, holding temporary unestablished positions, may contest local elections. The circular may be found at the following address: circulars.gov.ie/pdf/circular/finance/2009/09.pdf
Section 13(1)(i) of the 2001 Act provides that a person employed by a local authority, the HSE or the Child and Family Agency and is not the holder of a class, description or grade of employment designated by the Minister by order under section 161(1)(b) of the 2001 Act shall also be disqualified from membership of a local authority.
In 2004, the then Minister for Environment, Local Government and Heritage, under Section 161 of the 2001 Act, signed the Local Government Act 2001 (Section 161) Order 2004 which provides that the disqualification set out in Section 13 would not apply to local authority employees in respect of “every class, description or grade of employment the maximum remuneration for which on the last date for receipt of nominations at a local election does not exceed the maximum remuneration for the grade of Clerical Officer”. (Section 161 of the 2001 Act refers to restrictions on local authority employment and membership of a local authority). A circular issued to local authority employees in this regard in May 2009 (ref.: LG(P) 06/09).
Section 13(1)(ii) of the 2001 Act provides that a person employed by the Health Service Executive and at a grade or of a description of employment designated by order of the Minister for Health and Children shall be disqualified from local authority membership. The making of such an order is a matter for the Minister for Health, though my understanding is that such an order has not been made.
