The truth about being a councillor: ‘Many say they will vote for you. Divide by two and two again’

While the razzmatazz attached to next Friday’s European elections means potential MEPs have tended to attract more attention, voters will also be selecting lower-key local government representatives when they go to the polls on June 7th.

The local elections will see candidates from all parties and none battling it out for council seats on local authorities. Here, retiring councillors from a range of political backgrounds share their secrets about the job, and give advice to incoming representatives.

They advise on setting boundaries to avoid answering the phone at 3am and say a good councillor will never promise something they are not 100 per cent sure they can deliver.

‘Working can can be 24/7’

Sinéad Maguire, outgoing Fine Gael councillor, Sligo-Strandhill, Co Sligo

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to help others and get to meet every sector of your community. It’s incredibly varied.

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“Last year I spent two weeks advocating for a Portuguese/Brazilian family with five children who had been unlawfully evicted from their home under the cover of darkness by hooded men.

“The work is addictive; it gets under your skin. Because of the social media it can be 24/7, because frequently your constituents are sitting down and online in the evenings and expect an immediate response.”

“I’ve run twice. I was eight months pregnant when I got elected first. There was no maternity leave; I was fielding calls from the maternity suite.

“I didn’t feel comfortable bringing my child into the chamber to breastfeed. That led to a breastfeeding campaign which has been adopted by Sligo businesses. So you can affect change – it can take a long time but you can get there.

“It’s a part-time role but can have very unsocial hours – with family commitments it can be difficult to juggle everything. I definitely will miss the role.”

‘Patience and persistence are key allies’

Mick Finn, outgoing Independent councillor, Cork City South-Central

“Don’t do it! Only joking ... being elected a councillor to represent your community in a local authority is a great honour and privilege and attempting to do so as a party or independent candidate is a great adventure.

“Setting out on my first journey at the local elections of 2009, along with family and friends knocking on doors and campaigning with me, I was full of trepidation and nervous excitement. Winning a seat first time out sealed that initial experience. Topping the poll twice after – and being elected lord mayor of Cork in 2018 – proved that hard work pays off.

“One piece of advice I would give to candidates pounding the pavements can be summed up in an old adage: ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’. The big wheels of council move slowly, so patience and persistence are key allies in trying to get elected first and then solving local issues.

“Another little nugget of wisdom applies to the response at the doors and the many who will say they will vote for you. Divide by two, and two again, as many do not vote in local elections, with turnouts typically around 50 per cent, and you have to consider loyalties already set in stone.”

‘Be cautious and take every aspect seriously’

Robert Beasley, outgoing Sinn Féin councillor, Listowel, Co Kerry

“Take everything into consideration before you get involved too much. It is not an ideal place for a young person, unless they have a very sound background and a solid income, because a councillor would not be earning a lot of money.

“You’re always looking at your back – people will always be looking for errors that you’ve made. But you just have to be cautious and don’t rush it.

“In relation to social media, I would be very cautious of it; it’s not something I would be into. But that’s the way politics is going to be conducted in the future.

“It can be very satisfying as well to get work done and to be able to help people is very important. Councillors shouldn’t forget their role and should look after the people that are most needy at all times because it is often the case that those who have the most will get the most.

“I’d advise candidates to be cautious and take every aspect of their political career seriously.”

‘It’s all about building trust and respect’

Rena Donaghey, outgoing Fianna Fáil councillor, Buncrana, Co Donegal

“Local politics has changed a lot since I was first elected 30 years ago. I didn’t even have a mobile phone back then. Social media needs to be used, not abused.

“Councillors make a huge difference to the quality of life of local people and how issues are dealt with. It’s good to have people from various backgrounds and experiences involved.

“Attend public meetings, engage with local communities, and listen to their concerns. Being visible and actively participating in community events helps build trust and understanding. Don’t overdo it either because being dragged in too many secretarial jobs, etc. is very time consuming, in what is already a very busy job.

“Never promise something that you are not 100 per cent sure you can deliver. Always come back to constituents in a timely fashion. It’s all about building trust and respect and letting people see that you will be a good leader in your community.”

‘You need to do a heck of a lot of reading’

Dave Quinn, Outgoing Social Democrats councillor, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown

“In June 2019 I knew what I wanted to try to achieve as a first-time councillor. Disability, housing, climate change and regeneration of Dún Laoghaire town centre were the issues I campaigned on. But very quickly I realised that achieving anything within the council chamber was a totally different matter.

“First, no matter what your key issues are, you need to do a heck of a lot of reading – all of the recent council reports and debates on these issues.

“Submit questions on the issues so that you can build your case for subsequent efforts to propose your changes in policy or delivery of specific services. You’ll need to build relationships with other councillors and senior council executives to build a solid support base for your proposals. I was surprised to find that some of these positive relationships crossed all party lines.

“Always stay close to the advocacy groups that inform you and support your proposals. Don’t forget to let them know of your successes and failures within the council – I don’t think I did that well.”

‘I quickly learned there wasn’t the support’

Maura Bell, outgoing Labour councillor, Wexford town

“Depending on if you’re going with a party or as an independent, you need to know what help and support would come from the party or not. I quickly learned there wasn’t the support that I thought was going to be there.

“The other thing is, you can’t be all things to everyone. I’ve been involved in a lot of voluntary organisations over the years, so to me it felt like an extension of all my community work. But I didn’t know the ins and outs of the council’s work and the speed that things happen. I’m a doer – my motto is ‘do it now’. I can tell you it certainly didn’t lend itself to local politics.

“My main piece of advice to anybody would be to really have your boundaries. I was answering the phone at 3am – that’s my nature. Make sure you’re getting into it for all the right reasons, that you do want to be able to help make changes within your area.

“I would encourage as many females as possible to get involved in politics in any shape or form, as we need to make the change.”

‘The bottom line was to get the best we could for Cashel and the hinterland’

Tom Wood, retired Independent councillor, Cashel, Co Tipperary

“The worst thing that happened in my experience as a councillor of 40 years was the abolition of the town council 10 years ago. Before, you had a big number of candidates on the day of the election, so the turnout on polling day was very high. You had a great connection with council officials because they knew everything about the area, because we all worked together.

“But since the abolition of the town council all of that is gone. Now, a lot of people that might have been interested in getting involved in local government have no hope unless a very high-profile person maybe goes as an independent or is fairly well established in a political party. A very sizeable portion of our population now in Cashel will be people from other countries – they might be interested in getting involved in local Government, but all of that opportunity is gone as well.

“The workload depended on what your own interests were – the bottom line from my point of view was to get the best we could for Cashel and the hinterland around Cashel. I’m retired five years but I still regularly have people coming to me for help filling out application forms, etc.”

‘Read the room and be a team player’

Finola Armstrong, outgoing Fine Gael councillor, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim

“The elected councillors are a team from day one but there are some who play the game as soloists. You need to try to read the room and be a team player. The executive is better persuaded by a team and more likely to rethink a proposal. Debate is good for all.

“A lot of the items on the agenda are repetitive, but the local press is listening as if for the first time, so everything needs to be repeated.

“Established councillors are very knowledgeable. Read the local paper ...

“Get to know council staff as well as you can. Different staff have different attitudes to councillors – sometimes it’s party related and sometimes it’s just personal. Be assured that those asking for difficult things have asked other councillors but you may be the one who follows it up. You’ll be remembered for this. The first day as an elected rep is the first day of your next canvass.”

‘Don’t say you agree with something when you don’t’

Joe Murphy, outgoing Fianna Fáil councillor, Boyle, Co Roscommon

“My brother was a councillor, so I was tuned into politics. But when you go into the council it’s totally different. Some of the challenges included planning my time to fit everything in, which you can’t do.

“Then there’s talking about things you might not really know about – I was hearing about the ‘LIS’ and had to go home and look it up. It’s the Local Improvement Scheme.

“At your first meeting you’re going to be elated but you’ll have times where there are meetings requiring loads of things to prepare. Never say anything if you’re not fully sure. Ask a question but don’t try to let on you know when you don’t.

“Councillors who had been sitting for a while really helped me. Some things you might be working on for a long time – but don’t give up; keep trying.

“Don’t be afraid to trust people, including people in different parties to you or who you have different opinions to.

“Like any job, you have to grow into it. You have to think on your feet. Don’t say you agree with something when you don’t agree with it because you’ll become disillusioned yourself.”

‘It’s frustrating having more ambition than funding available’

Alison Gilliland, outgoing Labour councillor, Artane-Whitehall, Dublin City Council

“Being a local councillor is hugely rewarding but also, at times, frustrating. While initially I found getting to grips with the various council systems a bit challenging, I quickly began to understand that most things take time to be realised.

“It’s by no means the fault of the great public servants working in Dublin City Council (DCC), but rather the huge lack of autonomy, capacity and funding in a very centralised government system that sees local authorities mainly as the implementers of national policy.

“They have no real power to adapt policy to respond to local needs or to raise funds such as introducing a DCC hotel bed tax to supplement lack of central funding. It’s frustrating having more ambition than funding available, whether that be for community spaces and facilities or footpath repairs or extra street cleaning.

“I’d say be prepared to spend time getting to know the system and staff – ask lots of questions. Participate, contribute and be visible not just in your local community but at DCC meetings and briefings.

“Make a point of calling on Government for more funding and for a more progressive system of local government.”