Most people will now agree that the parasites who inhabit the houses of parliament in Kildare Street are a pretty disgusting conglomeration of germs. Like any parasite, they thrive while their unfortunate host suffers.
While the tapeworms in Kildare Street may be the most obvious infestation that Ireland is suffering from there is a bigger, more costly and even more incompetent group of parasites exploiting this nation. They are currently roaming the streets en mass, looking to dupe unsuspecting citizens into voting for them so that they may continue to leech off our dwindling resources. Yes, I am referring to that most unpleasant of parasitic infections - Parasītus Councilicus a.k.a. your local councillor.
The natural reaction to the words "local councillor" is to slam the door or walk away. Many people don't know what they do. Most don't even care. However, DarkPassenger would urge everyone to consider the following before walking away from these lice when they're canvassing your vote.
Many councillors claim to be community activists. They concoct crocks of crap such as the following as justifications for their existence:
"I was on the tidy town's committee when I realised that I needed to do more for my community. So I decided to join <insert party name here> and run for the council."
What this really translates to is:
"I was on the tidy town's committee when I realised what a handy number councillors had. I needed some easy cash and always fancied a bit of politics so I decided to join <insert party name here> to get elected. If I serve my party well, to the detriment of my local community, I may even get selected to run for the Dáil. Chaaaa-ching!"
This translation probably applies to 90% of the country's councillors. It certainly applies to 100% of councillors who are members of political parties. The majority of our TDs come through the County Council system. They learn how to leave the real decisions to unaccountable civil servants. They learn how to extract the most from expenses, how to claim credit for work they haven't done and how to follow party orders. All skills which will serve them well if they move up to the Dáil.
While councillors don't enjoy the Julius Caesar sytle conditions which prevail in Leinster house, it is worth their while to "represent" us. They receive an annual representational payment (€17,604), expenses and even redundancy payments. So when we've had enough of their uselessness and vote them out they still cash in. Read about the €10 million pot of gold waiting for deposed councillors here.
The fact of the matter is that councillors have no executive power whatsoever. The unelected, unaccountable County/City Manager is the one who makes the decisions. His staff are incompetent and unsackable (like most public servants). Work practices in the local councils are inefficient and our money is wasted hand over fist. And our beloved councillors can do nothing about this because A) they don't have the power and B) they don't want to.
So when the local clowncillor knocks at your door don't hide behind the sofa and wait for them to go away. Open the door and ask some tough questions:
- How much do you get paid for "representing" me?
- What were your total expense claims for the last 5 years? Justify this.
- How many council sittings did you attend last year (the average council sat 18 times in 2008).
- How much money do you stand to make from the €10 million "goodbye fund" if you are not re-elected. Justify this.
- Do wasteful practices such as "bank time"* continue to be allowed amongst council employees? Do you agree with it?
- What is the point of having councils full of elected officials who have no executive power?
- If councillors are worth having why does my locality have so many problems (insert your own list of complaints here - you're bound to have loads!).
- You are a member of a political party. Do you agree with the fact that your colleagues in the Dáil should be rewarded so extravagantly for their incompetence?
Above all, give these councillors a hard time. Get annoyed with them. Make them feel uncomfortable. The vast majority of them don't give a stuff about the local community. If they represent a political party they certainly can't claim a single ounce of integrity. They will ultimately do as the party tells them, not what is good for the area. The only reason they stand before you is because they want your vote. I hope all you give them is hell!
* Bank Time: The 30 minutes that some public sector workers get to cash their non-existent cheque because salaries are now electronically paid into bank accounts. This practice occurs in many City/County Councils.
Some interesting links:
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