I join the Leas-Chathaoirleach in welcoming our guests. They are most welcome, and I hope they have an enjoyable trip.

Today I raise the issue of pensions for our local councillors. I know the local democracy task force on the future of local government reported in March and an implementation plan was published in July. I have spoken to a lot of our local authority representatives, who have highlighted to me that there is still no clarity on what the future will be for them with regards to a pension. At the moment, once they have passed the age of 50 they are entitled to a gratuity payment which is maxed out at three times their salary. However, there is a widespread view among our councillors that they would prefer to pay into a pension and have that available to them once they retire. For me, one of the key points about all of this is that if the gratuity is maxed out after 20 years of service somebody who was elected to the council in their early 20s or 30s finds after 20 years of service that they have reached a ceiling. Our local authorities benefit from having people of experience together with new people coming forward. It is important that this area is looked at. I ask for a debate specifically on the issue of local authority pensions.