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Now Ye're Talking - to a rural county councillor

  • 14-08-2018 1:37pm
    #1
    Boards.ie Employee Posts: 12,597 ✭✭✭✭✭Boards.ie: Niamh
    Boards.ie Community Manager


    Our next guest is a rural Fine Gael county councillor. He has been elected to the council for a number of years now. He has a background in community volunteering. He is here to answer any questions you have about the county council and how it is to work there, how it functions and what powers and responsibilities the county council has in the local area.


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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 503 ✭✭✭Vex Willems


    Will you sort me out with my planning?


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,495 ✭✭✭✭eviltwin


    How many hours a week do you do and how much do you get paid?


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,829 ✭✭✭Cork Boy 53


    There is a big pothole in the boreen leading to my house. Will you get it filled for me?


  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    Will you sort me out with my planning?
    Well I'm sure I can offer some help with your planning but once you have adhered to your county development plan and the different planning regulations, hopefully you won't have any issues. But please do drop me a PM if I can help.


  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    There is a big pothole in the boreen leading to my house. Will you get it filled for me?
    Ah potholes, the absolute bane of every rural councillors life. Have you seen the website www.fixmystreet.ie ? It can be a useful tool. If you would like to forward me the location and I will contact your local authority and report it.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,054 ✭✭✭julyjane


    Do you get abuse from anyone?


  • Registered Users Posts: 10,301 ✭✭✭✭gerrybbadd


    How do you feel the attitude is with regard to Local Authorities and Social Housing? This is potentially the biggest political issue at the minute, but it seems there is little pressure felt within Local Authorities to deliver on their targets, at least from the outside looking in.


  • Registered Users Posts: 472 ✭✭Turbohymac


    Why can't the local council fix potholes and in a timely manner..down here in cork apart from the cork Dublin motorway..all the rural roads are in a very bad state and potholes actually turn into vehicle swallowing craters before the council repairs them and even then the repair is of poor quality..also why are there not more resurfacing lengths of road contracted out to private contractors who inmo certainly do an absolutely superior road finish than when the council undertake the work themselves..
    I have previously worked in another department of the council for over 21 years and i am simply stating real facts.
    Also if money/funding is an issue why not pass a higher percentage of road tax on to road repairs but not to be given directly to roads division of councils as they cost more than subcontractors and as stated earlier simply do very poor repairs


  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    eviltwin wrote: »
    How many hours a week do you do and how much do you get paid?
    It's very hard to say exactly how many hours a week. There is no clock in or clock out.

    I would say however that being a county councillor is a seven day per week job and while "if you enlist, you must soldier" applies to it, (I knew what some of the job entailed before I ran for election) you are never off duty.

    With social media and the internet, councillors (most of them) are now contactable 24/7 and while you could say right I'm only responding to people between 9am and 6pm. You would be left with an unworkable amount of representations to do on a daily basis.

    Some people would say that a councillors only "real" work is going to meetings. So it could be worked out how many hours a week on average each councillor does in that regard but the job entails a lot more, which I can elaborate on further if you wish, it's actually one of my great frustrations that many people don't see a difference between a councillor a T.D, Senator or often times actual council staff.

    Payment.

    What every councillor is paid and what they claim in expenses is available on every local authority website. (at least to my knowledge).

    There tends to be an attitude of "Ah sure that doesn't include all the 'hidden' stuff" but I can assure you any cent of public money that a councillor receives is available to view.

    The break down is something like this:

    Representational Payment: 16,500 (This is a salary type payment and is taxable)

    Monthly expenses: €380 (This is my MONTHLY travel and subsistence payment and is calculated by the distance each councillor lives from the local authority offices. Naturally, it varies from councillor to councillor) this is approx €4,560 in my case per year.

    Municipal district allowance. €1,000 per annum (this was brought in last year to give consideration to the increased workload and geographical areas that most councillors encountered after the 2014 electoral boundaries were changed.

    So all in all probably a little less than €22,000 per year. Then councillors will attend training modules which they can claim expenses for, I think in most councils its somewhere between 2,000 and 4,000 but this must be claimed and councillors must actually sign in at the training etc

    There are also allowances for chairman/mayor roles and these vary depending on county population and per local authority.

    But on average, a councillor gets approx 22k per year.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,407 ✭✭✭Ginger83


    The local cllr in our area is absolutely hated due to being a gossiper and a pure liar. He is also the local undertaker and couldn't get a local funeral if he did it for free.

    How does your community see you?


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  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 10,167 Mod ✭✭✭✭artanevilla


    Ginger83 wrote: »
    The local cllr in our area is absolutely hated due to being a gossiper and a pure liar. He is also the local undertaker and couldn't get a local funeral if he did it for free.

    How does your community see you?

    Obviously not that hated if he was elected?

    Anyway.

    Do you think a lot of TDs in Dail Eireann are glorified councillors?
    Does 'parish pump' politics have a place on the national stage?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 685 ✭✭✭keepalive213


    Do you own a pub, undertakers or have an auctioneers licence?


  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    gerrybbadd wrote: »
    How do you feel the attitude is with regard to Local Authorities and Social Housing? This is potentially the biggest political issue at the minute, but it seems there is little pressure felt within Local Authorities to deliver on their targets, at least from the outside looking in.
    That's a very interesting point. I think the perception many people have of politics, government, local authorities is often different from the real picture.

    There is huge pressure on local authorities to build houses. Make no mistake about it. In my local authority we are approving the building of houses on a monthly basis and there is a real sense of urgency in relation to it.

    However, there's not enough focus on local authorities individually and too much attention on the minister and what he says or doesn't say.

    There are also people gaming the system (not all of them) but enough that they are taking from the sincere and genuine cases and that is a real shame.


  • Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Regional East Moderators, Regional North West Moderators Posts: 11,918 Mod ✭✭✭✭miamee


    Is politics something you aspired to get into or something you fell into after seeing a need for things to be done/done differently? If so, what was it that gave you that push to go for it?

    Do you get much job satisfaction from it? I'd imagine being contactable 24/7 you'd have to enjoy it to some degree!


  • Registered Users Posts: 312 ✭✭spindex


    What mobile phone do you have and did the tax payers of Ireland pay for it ?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 752 ✭✭✭DickSwiveller Returns


    Do you think more powers of government should be delegated to Councillors?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,828 ✭✭✭5rtytry56


    Who has been most co-operative with you on projects etc.

    Fianna fail councillors
    Sinn Fein councillors
    Independent


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,407 ✭✭✭Ginger83


    Obviously not that hated if he was elected?

    Anyway.

    Do you think a lot of TDs in Dail Eireann are glorified councillors?
    Does 'parish pump' politics have a place on the national stage?

    Made the last place by the skin of his teeth i believe, there's a % of fools in all walks of life.


  • Registered Users Posts: 27,981 ✭✭✭✭AndrewJRenko


    How much does each election campaign cost you? How much of this do you fund personally?


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,980 ✭✭✭funkey_monkey


    How often do you get abused - either physically or verbally?
    What was the worst instance?

    Do you think there is good value in the political system for the taxpayers?

    What is your take on corruption - the programme on rte about the councillors taking cash bribes for a fake windmill generation? It doesn't help the public perception.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 27,981 ✭✭✭✭AndrewJRenko


    There is a big pothole in the boreen leading to my house. Will you get it filled for me?
    Ah potholes, the absolute bane of every rural councillors life. Have you seen the website www.fixmystreet.ie ? It can be a useful tool. If you would like to forward me the location and I will contact your local authority and report it.
    How good are your Council at responding to, and following up on reports submitted?

    My experiences of actual solutions from the Councils around Dublin is very mixed?


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,247 ✭✭✭Gloomtastic!


    Why did you join FG?

    Do you have hopes of higher office and how long do you think you’ll have to wait to get there?

    Why do councils still allow planning permission for one-off houses? Towns and villages are dying throughout the country, people are bemoaning the loss of communities yet it is the councils that allow the towns/villages to die with appalling planning decisions.


  • Registered Users Posts: 472 ✭✭Turbohymac


    Hi..any chance of a reply to my earlier post ..as a taxpayer logging into fixmystreet as you mentioned to an earlier contributor certainly ain't my job and highlights just how removed from everyday life some local authorities are.


  • Registered Users Posts: 712 ✭✭✭Bitches Be Trypsin


    What's your opinion on certain HSE interns being payed €4.50 an hour for their first year of work?


  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    julyjane wrote: »
    Do you get abuse from anyone?
    Sometimes you do, but usually from people who don't want to engage in a conversation or from people who think you are theirs to abuse, but I have to say away from social media it's pretty rare.


  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    Turbohymac wrote: »
    Why can't the local council fix potholes and in a timely manner..down here in cork apart from the cork Dublin motorway..all the rural roads are in a very bad state and potholes actually turn into vehicle swallowing craters before the council repairs them and even then the repair is of poor quality..also why are there not more resurfacing lengths of road contracted out to private contractors who inmo certainly do an absolutely superior road finish than when the council undertake the work themselves..
    I have previously worked in another department of the council for over 21 years and i am simply stating real facts.
    Also if money/funding is an issue why not pass a higher percentage of road tax on to road repairs but not to be given directly to roads division of councils as they cost more than subcontractors and as stated earlier simply do very poor repairs
    Hi there, and I see your second post too.

    In my local authority almost all road repairs are contracted out and same for resurfacing or LIS or CIS, so I don't really know what to tell you.

    I would certainly feel your pain in relation to the timing of road repairs but what I find engineers tend to do is try and contract a substantive amount of road repairs and then look for the tender. Rather than ten tenders for ten potholes, one tender for ten potholes.

    Does that mean literally waiting for potholes to build up, I guess so, but to be fair any really severe or dangerous ones would be attended to immediately.

    Sorry if that reply isn't what you were asking, come back to me if you like


  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    Obviously not that hated if he was elected?

    Anyway.

    Do you think a lot of TDs in Dail Eireann are glorified councillors?
    Does 'parish pump' politics have a place on the national stage?
    I think or maybe I hope my most local community are fond of me? Hello Ego. lol

    I have no doubt there are people who would say "That fella does nothin'" but I think in general they know I try my best and at the very least I try to always come back to people even though I am dreadful at saying no or giving bad news. but thats just me being honest.

    It's gas though, everywhere you go, someone somewhere had a story about the local fella, some are good, some are bad and some are hilarious! (The stories I mean)

    Do I think TD's are glorified councillors?

    Sometimes yes.

    I think a lot of TD's are "reduced" to that level of work because of their electorate on one hand and because of rivals on the other. If they don't write the letter to the council to get the pothole filled the other TD in the constituency will.

    We actually need TD's to stop getting involved in council issues. Stay away from housing, potholes and planning etc. but if a constituent comes to your door, your going to help them, it's a dog eat dog, catch 22, all sorts of tricky and in a perfect world our TD's would legislate and our councillors would be let look after the local issues but that's the way I see it.

    It's startling how many people do not know the difference between a councillor and a TD and they might as well think senators are astronauts. Or even worse than that, not knowing the difference between a councillor and council staff.

    frustrating!


  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    What's your opinion on certain HSE interns being payed €4.50 an hour for their first year of work?
    That is quite literally unbelievable and I hope it's not actually the case? Not something I have a direct say in obviously but would happily make reps through my local TD etc, if you like?


  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    Turbohymac wrote: »
    Hi..any chance of a reply to my earlier post ..as a taxpayer logging into fixmystreet as you mentioned to an earlier contributor certainly ain't my job and highlights just how removed from everyday life some local authorities are.
    I think I replied. Hopefully!


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  • Company Representative Posts: 57 Verified rep I'm a rural county councillor, AMA


    How good are your Council at responding to, and following up on reports submitted?

    My experiences of actual solutions from the Councils around Dublin is very mixed?
    Can you elaborate on what you mean by reports please?


This discussion has been closed.
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