CLLR. CHRIS O’LEARY IS NOT SEEKING PAY RISE

CLLR. CHRIS O’LEARY IS NOT SEEKING PAY RISE Sinn Fein leader on Cork City Council, Cllr.Chris O'Leary, has repudiated recent media reports by confirming that he is not seeking a pay rise of any kind. Cllr. O'Leary stated: "It is untrue that I or any other Sinn Fein councillor is seeking a pay rise. The main issue, surrounding pay, that we have raised is the exorbitant salary being paid to the Lord Mayor. Sinn Fein is calling for a cut to the payment of €120,000 per annum along with additional payments made to councillors for attending conferences and for chairing Strategic Policy Committees." Cllr. O'Leary has been the main critic of the Lord Mayor's salary and the perks associated with the office. He continued saying: "These payments are questionable at the best of times but are unacceptable given the financial situation in which the council finds itself. The Lord Mayor's payment should be reduced to €35,000 which is close to the average industrial wage. The payment of €6,500 to the Deputy Lord Mayor should be abolished along with a complete moratorium on all conferences. These conference cost the city €145,700 a year. I am also calling for the scrapping of the €10,000 payment to councillors who chair four Strategic Policy Committee meeting a year." "It is indefensible that such extravagant payments are being made at a time when Minister Phil Hogan and the Local Authority Management Agency are enforcing a programme of financial penalisation against councils in order to subsidise the government's continuation of bailing out toxic banks. You cannot advocate on behalf of ordinary people while justifying a huge salary for a post that is effectively ceremonial." Cllr. O Leary was adamant that the council will have to consider ways of dealing with the programme of financial penalisation that will limit its impact on citizens. "Plainly there are areas of council expenditure which could be trimmed without hitting services to the public. Sinn Fein will be putting forward alternative proposals to the council at the meeting. We believe that these proposals will help ensure that the cuts fall where they will have the least impact on struggling families and communities." ENDS