Since September2015…
Working For You in The Seanad on PRSI, Pay & Pensions
Dear Fellow Colleagues,
As soon as I took my seat in the Seanad in October 2014, I realised that there was a serious inequity in the treatment of Councillors particularly via-a-vis Oireachtas members and was surprised that the issue had not been raised in the Seanad before. To gain a full picture, I immediately sent an online survey to City and County Councillors from all parties and gathered data on your employment status, working hours, PRSI and Pension entitlements. The facts that you shared with me were a compete eye opener and I thank you again for the breath and depth of information you provided as this has enabled me to make evidence based and challenging representations on your behalf.
What I did since Oct 2014
I began by sending FOI requests to the offices of An Taoiseach and Ministers to see if any talks had taken place but NONE had. I followed up with letters to the Ombudsman and the Labour Relations Committee seeking clarification on the position of Councillors under the Lansdown Road Agreement in the section dealing with the low paid. I obtained full legal advice from a Barrister with an expertise in Tax and PRSI law. My office also undertook research into the evolution of Class K PRSI and the full long-term implications for Councillors.
Between November ’14 and July ’15 I tabled a number of motions in the Seanad calling for a full and comprehensive review of Councillors’ workload, electoral areas, Pay, PRSI, and Pension. I also called for a full all-party debate with Minister Kelly, but it never happened, and my motions are still in the Seanad order paper. In April I had Commencements debates on your issues with Minister Kevin Humphreys TD and with Minister Ann Phelan TD. Environment. My motions for a full cross-party debate are still on the Seanad order paper and I will continue to press hard for debates.
On quote Minister Kevin Humphreys, 15th April 2015 “It is not a popular subject to raise and I compliment Senator Craughwell on raising it. He certainly will not get any brownie points with the public for raising this important issue.”
Irish Times, April 21st, 2015 “To add insult to injury, the representation payment made to Councillors no longer compensates them for the responsibility they take on and the extent of the work they do.” – Senator Gerard Craughwell
My Commencement Debates on the 15th and 21st of April that year, were the first time that Councillors Pay, Pension, PRSI and Working Conditions were debated in the Seanad since the Local Government Reform Act 2014 was enacted.
I made a Pre-Budget Submission to An Tánaiste on the matter of Class K PRSI, and Ministers, Kelly, Noonan, and Howlin asking them to either provide the Representational Payment as a non-taxable allowance similar to the Oireachtas Public Representation Allowance or to place Councillors on Fixed-Term Contracts of employment for the duration of their term of office with full access to all of the terms and conditions of employment commensurate with a senior post within the Local Government grades. I made further representation to An Tánaiste Minister Joan Burton at the Education and Social Protection Committee and I was appointed rapporteur to prepare a report by the Committee on the matter of Councillors’ Class K PRSI.
What have I achieved?
1.Published the first Joint Oireachtas Committee Report on Class K PRSI.
2.Got the issue of Pay, PRSI and Pension firmly on the Seanad agenda for the first time since the Local Government Reform Act 2014 was passed.
3.Secured the support of three Independent Councillors to take a legal challenge with me against the State and the attorney General on Class K.
Anomalies and Inequalities
The Issue Councillors Have Identified
Class K PRSI and Pensions
It has been the elephant in the room since January 2011 and despite the concerted efforts of many, including the Representative Association (AILG and LAMA), the issue of Class K PRSI of 4% on the Representational payments of Councillors for which they receive no corresponding benefit remains unresolved. I am in full agreement with the view expressed by Councillors that while others official holders such as members of the Oireachtas, European Parliament, Judiciary or the Attorney General and Comptroller and Auditor General ar all subject to Class K PRSI their financial circumstances are not comparable.
- Councillors are the only office holders who will continue to pay PRSI Class K after 66.
- Councillors are not entitled to any of the benefits of Class A insurance such as illness benefit, State Pension (Transition), State Pension (Contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s, or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, Guardian’s Payment (Contributory), Invalidity Pension, Occupational Injuries Benefits, Treatment, Benefit, Jobseeker’s Benefit, Carers Benefit, Maternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Health and Safety Benefit.
- While many Councillors establish entitlement to social insurance benefits based on their non-council related activities, for many more their Representational Payment is their sole income and the gap in their insurance record and subsequent lack of benefits prevents them from accessing a range of Back to Education, VTOS allowances and opportunities.
- For those who opt to pay voluntary contributions to maintain existing social insurance contributions, the .opt-in deadline has elapsed and has not been extended.
- While Councillors have a gratuity payment this does not provide for them for the rest of their lives in the way that a contributory pension does.
What I Propose To DO
I will immediately write to your Representative Associations to get their valued input for inclusion in the report on Class K PRSI by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection.
I will solicit YOUR views on this and other matters relating to pay and conditions.
I will continue to actively lobby the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, and the relevant Ministers on this issue.
I will have a firm set of recommendations in place ahead of the budget.
Class K PRSI
Legal Challenge
“At the heart of this are the issues of fairness and proportionality and while Class K PRSI has serious implications for Councillors pension entitlements it also has broader implications for local democracy, equality, diversity and the future of Local Government representations.” – Senator Gerard Craughwell (2016)
Class K PRSI has been the elephant in the room since January 2011 and no Taoiseach, no Minister and no political party has agreed to roll it back. Neither has any legal challenges been brought against the imposition of Class K PRSI on Office Holders until 2016. Over the year, as well as working on contributions to 47 different Bills as part of my day-to-day Seanad Business, I have also been researching Class K and working with a team of legal advisors. I now wish to inform you that on the 14th of March 2016 my advisors wrote to the Chief State Solicitor and the Attorney General on behalf of myself and Cllr’s, Thomas Welby, Pat Hynes, Mary Roche, & Denis Foley, all of whom only pay Class K PRSI. The State had 14 days to reply and as to date no reply has been forthcoming, we will now commence the process of Legal Constitutional Challenge.
Each of the Councillors mentioned above came forward because of the specific characteristics they bring to any challenge in the courts, and I want to thank them for their brave stand.
I know that the Class K PRSI is just one issue pertaining to the terms and Conditions of Councillors’ employment that needs to be addressed and I assure you that I will continue to work with others who are genuinely interested in resolving all matters relating to this as long as I am in a position to do so. I will keep you informed of the situation as it develops in the coming days and weeks.
Thank you for giving so generously of your time to engage with me on the issue. Yours concerns are my business and always will be.
For further details find Rapporteur’s Foreword on Houses of the Oireachtas, Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection, Report on Class K PRSI, February 2016