Derry City and Strabane Councillors complain over lack of phone call allowance in their expenses

A number of local councillors have complained that they do not receive free phone calls as a part of a £14,485 package they receive annually.

The concerns arose during a meeting on Tuesday of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Governance and Strategic Planning Committee.

At the meeting, it emerged that as of April 1 this year, the annual basic allowance paid to councillors will rise from £14,342 to £14,485.

An allowance of £30,113 will be payable to the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, while an allowance of £7,528 will be payable to the Deputy Mayor.

In addition, councillors who are elected chairs of council committees will receive an additional £8,211 a year, while vice chairs of committees will receive an additional £3,162 a year.

Councillors can also claim 65p a mile for their vehicles, and 20p a mile if they choose to travel by bicycle.

At Tuesday’s meeting, it was also agreed that councillors would receive a £15 monthly allowance for broadband services, after it was removed in April of last year.

However, speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, the independent councillor Patsy Kelly said that while he welcomed the move, in comparison to what elected members received on other councils, they were the ‘poor cousins’, as many of their counterparts receive call bundle packages.

“We seem to get nothing this side of the world,” he said.

He then asked council to outline the phone services provided to councillor officers and how much that cost.

“What we get is very little,” he added.

Responding, Ellen Cavanagh, Lead Democratic Services and Improvement Officer, said that the council cannot provide telephone calls for councillors, adding that she was ‘only articulating the view of the department’.

Meanwhile, the DUP’s Thomas Kerrigan said that Derry and Strabane seemed to be the only council ‘who don’t get mobile phones and bundles’.

“I thought we were going to be a super council, not the poorhouse,” he added.

The UUP’s Derek Hussey added that it was an ‘abdication of responsibility’ on the government department responsible for expenses throughout all councils in the north, which he said should be ‘standardised’.

The independent councillor Paul Gallagher then commented: “Councillors got a raise of over £4,500, which is a fairy large rise. That should cover a few phone calls.”