Councils could lose experience and drive under RPA

If current RPA proposals are implemented, then it is believed that younger councillors and those with young families who face being inadequately remunerated to undertake their role will not serve because it will not be worth their while financially and the full-time nature of the work will impact negatively on their home/work balance.

Meanwhile, long-serving councillors may opt for a 'golden handshake' rather than putting themselves up for re-election and risk leaving without a financial package if they are not elected again. It is thought the combined loss of councillors would create a near total depletion of experience, knowledge and youthful drive in Derry City Council chamber.

The issue how RPA could impact on the Council Chamber's demographics and age profile if Londonderry and Strabane are amalgamated was raised during a discussion session between Angela Askin, a Community Relations Officer at the City Council, and a delegation of women from the Waterside and Cityside who attended the pilot 'Do You Get the Guildhall' event on Wednesday.

Ms Askin, who outlined the political workings of the council and the role of councillors within that, said councillors worked between 60 and 70 hours a week in addition to holding down their own jobs.

"It is a heavy workload and you have to be very committed to it," she said.

The Council's Women's Officer, Joanna Boyd told delegates that under RPA it was proposed to pay councillors a wage and make their role a full-time job, but she understood that the salary could be around 20,000 a year.

"If someone is in a professional occupation, they probably earn a lot more in their own jobs and this is going to be a full-time job so you might lose a lot of your councillors because they could not afford to give up their job and take on the full-time role and they will not be able to hold down both jobs. I think it is one of the key issues as far as RPA is concerned.

"From a women's perspective, I think we are going to lose a lot of women councillors, because a lot of them are in paid full-time good jobs, and they won't be able to do that and be a councillor," she said.

Ms Askin added: "I think the age profile of a lot of councillors in Derry City Council is young, it is young blood that is in the councillors' seats. In a lot of other areas it would be an older profile, with a lot of retired people, and you may see it going back to that, because people will not be able to afford to give up their professional careers. So the age profile may rise.

"It is good to have young people involved in local politics as they get very involved at ground level and young people relate to them," she said.

Mrs Boyd said that younger councillors also related more easily and connected with the youth in society, adding: "They are also good at bringing ideas and new workings to the Council and the Chamber and are good at challenging practices and are not going to let things stand still and want to keep things moving along. New blood will question working practice and ask why can things not be changed."

Adding to the debate, former DUP Mayor Mildred Garfield, said: "Some of the older councillors, who maybe have been serving for more than 20 years will be able to retire with a remuneration fee, so a long-serving councillor can decide not to stand for election again when RPA comes in and walk away with the fee like a 'handshake'. But, if he stands for election and does not get re-elected, he will walk away with nothing, so there is no incentive to stay and he will have to ask himself 'Is it in my interest to take the money and walk?' If he is committed to what he does and he stands again he knows that if he doesn't get elected he will get nothing.

"If that's the case and a lot of them walk away or do not get elected in this council we are going to lose a lot of experience and knowledge, and we will be left with a totally new council with a lot of the experience having flown out the window," she said.