New figures show councillors rein in spending on conferences

The total amount of allowances paid to Meath councillors so far this year for attendances at conferences around the country is showing a sharp reduction from the amount paid out last year, according to new figures released by the county council yesterday (Tues). The figures emerged as newly-elected Fine Gael county councillor Regina Doherty called for the immediate suspension of attendance to "all non-essential" conferences by councillors across the country. She suggested that councillors should be the first to tighten their belts as the economic crisis deepens. Although the attendance of conferences was designed to equip councillors with the knowledge that would assist them carry out their duties as a councillor, she said they should all take responsibility in the current economic climate for every cent of taxpayers' money they spent. It was essential, the Ratoath councillor said, that the spend was essential, and that the councils got value for the money they spent if councillors attended conferences in their official capacity. Each councillor in Meath has an allowance of €4,000 for attendance at conferences. However, while €128,000 was allocated by the council for this purpose in 2008, just €76,926, or 60 per cent, had been spent. The budget for 2009 has been reduced to €116,000 and, so far, just €23,621 (or 20 per cent) has been spent. Meath County Council said that some councillors did not attend conferences at all, while others attended some conferences but often did not draw the total of their allowance of €4,000. Cllr Doherty said she did not believe that attending conferences - "at a considerable cost to the taxpayer" - was critical to the effectiveness of her role as a county councillor and believed that the practice should be suspended with immediate effect. "As a nation, we are being told that we all need to 'share the pain', but in real terms, this is not happening. Pensioners up and down the country, having worked hard all their lives, are having their pensions taxed, while the practice of spending taxpayers' money without consideration carries on as normal," she added. "If Minister Brian Lenihan needs to know where to look to save money in order to avoid taxing pensioners, or taxing children's allowances, then a good start would be in his own backyard. "It's no wonder this Government has difficulty in bringing the mass population 'along' with its recovery plans; the endless talk of reducing salaries, expenses, government committees, the talk of removing the practice of TDs receiving pensions while still holding down a very well-paid full-time job; lots of talk but the only action we have seen since they woke up to the fact that the country is in dire straits is increased levies on the ordinary taxpayer," she went on. She said an immediate motion should be passed that all non-essential expenditure by every TD, councillor, senator, every Government department, every county council, must stop with immediate effect. "As public leaders, if we can at least lead by example, then we truly might be all sharing the pain together." She listed a number of conferences - the 8th Benedict Kiely Literary Weekend, From the Canvass to the Council Chamber, Remembrance and Conference Weekend, Councillors' Co-operation North and South, and Health and Safety Issues in Local Government - and asked people to judge for themselves whether these were "essential".