Security allowance announced for Councillors

Kieran O’Donnell TD, Minster for State for Local Government and Planning has announced a new allowance of up to €2,500 for Councillors to provide for measures to enhance their personal physical security.

The announcement comes following a number of security and safety incidents experienced by Councillors and the recent introduction of a similar allowance scheme for Oireachtas members.

Regulations signed by Minister O’Donnell and Paschal Donohoe Minister for Public Expenditure set out details of a scheme under which Councillors will be able to claim up to 50% of their personal security costs, to a maximum value of €2,500, whichever is the lesser amount.

The allowance will be made on a once-off, voucher basis and will be administered by Local Authorities, and guidelines regarding the operation of the scheme will be issued to local authorities.

The allowance will allow Councillors to take measures to improve their personal physical security at the Councillors’ homes following a review to be carried out by a member of An Garda Síochána.

Eligible expenses under the scheme include the installation of intruder alarms, CCTV and the provision of panic buttons/GPS-tracked panic button apps.

Announcing the allowance, Minister O’Donnell stated “this allowance has been introduced in light of increased security and safety incidents experienced by Councillors.  I would hope that this allowance will support and ensure that current and future serving councillors can continue to carry out the excellent and vital work they do locally for their communities”

The scheme follows calls by Green Party TD Patrick Costello to cease the publication of election candidates and an attack on a home in Ballybrack where a window of the family home of councillor Hugh Lewis was smashed by anti-refugee protesters.

Varadkar said that in speaking to potential candidates for next year’s local elections, “they are my age and younger, some are women, and they do express concerns about safety or the impact on the family life, or abuse on social media,” and he implied that the public discourse surrounding politicians was putting people off running from public office.

The recently retired Joe Costello said that over the course of his long career, the one major change was social media “making politics a bit uglier.”