Councillors long accustomed to financing what is voluntary work through generous expenses had better beware. The Minister for the Environment, Noel Dempsey, is so appalled by what he sees as the abuse of the system that he wrote this summer to the heads of the three local authority associations calling on them to mend their ways and even introduce a code of conduct governing attendance, or in this instance non-attendance, at conferences.
Dempsey's letter, a copy of which has come into Quidnunc's possession, went to the heads of the Local Authority Members Association, the General Council of County Councils (GCCC) and the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland. The low level of participation by elected members at many conference sessions, including those organised by the representative associations, was of particular concern, he said, and had the potential to cause serious difficulty should it continue unchecked. "For some years now it is a regular feature at conferences to have situations where expert speakers who are giving of their time and experience make their presentations to virtually empty halls."
This level of non-attendance, writes Dempsey, is unacceptable because it sends out an appallingly negative image of elected members; questions the very bona fides of those who are ostensibly attending the conference but don't bother to attend; allows abuse by some who sign on but don't attend and is frustrating and embarrassing for the organisers.
The Minister said he was asking the three bodies to take the initiative in ending "these unacceptable habits. As things stand such practice calls into question the basis on which expenses are being claimed . . . What is needed now is moral leadership from the representative associations to end this behaviour . . . Rather than central Government being seen to intervene to any further extent, I feel it would be far better if the associations were to take a lead now and quickly produce a short code of conduct to apply in respect of conference attendance. My Department would be willing to provide such assistance as it could in this regard."
The Local Authority Estimates for 2000 show that the expenses of members and representations of county councils, corporations and UDCs at conferences, at home as opposed to abroad, comes to an astonishing £9m plus, or £6,546 a head. In response, Liam Kenny, director of the GCCC, says his organisation never had difficulty in having full houses for all its events; its problem was to find venues big enough to accommodate members. "I could see how there may be a problem about attendance with bodies outside of the local authority sector who organise conferences whose format or subject matter may not be as relevant for members."
The Department of the Environment says a preliminary response was received from the three local authority bodies. It appears there has been nothing since. Signage may be a thing of the past.