Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is clear that the three key words are clarity, clarity and more clarity. Everyone here today is neutral on the concept. Regarding what Mr. Geissel said earlier, we have four Dublin local authorities: Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. I was a member of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for many years. The project took a long time to get going and it is now bedded down and working. It is a very successful series of councils that collaborate very closely and are doing an exceptionally good job. On the issue of subsidiarity, bringing things to the closest denominator down on the ground locally is what is important. There is a need for greater synergies and greater co-operation across those four local authorities.

The key issue is somebody had the idea that we should have a mayor because every city in Europe has a mayor but we have different structures and we must compare like with like. I am very lukewarm about a centralised mayor for Dublin. I do not think it will work. I am very closely aligned and work very closely with the councillors in all of the Dublin local authorities and I am not picking up from them any desire or hunger to in any way water down their particular councils and rightly so. I support them in that.

The question is how we work collaboratively with the four structures that are in place. That is the direction we should take. I think Mr. Geissel made the point that there are Ministers who are responsible for all these sectors such as health, education, transport, infrastructure or the environment. Do we want another layer?

The next issue I wish to raise is one nobody really talks about, namely, local government funding. The chambers are particularly aware of the costs faced by their members. I constantly receive submissions. Indeed the chambers have prepared a number of excellent briefing papers on the planning and development levy scheme, the shortcomings there we hear about from the construction industry and the burden that business and enterprise is taking in terms of funding local government. On the other hand, we have the challenges around the local property tax. For whatever reason, local authorities do not see fit to increase the local property tax. This is their right and prerogative. There is a resistance and a concern from people who represent the citizens, that is, the residential citizens. There is also the issue that the chambers represent the business sector very ably and well so we have to deal with funding. My understanding of this draft legislation is that if we had a mayor in Limerick, he or she could devolve those powers back. The mayor does not even need to go back to the people. A person can be elected mayor and can devolve some or all of those powers back to the chief executive. We have the mayor, we still have the chief executive and there is significant cost involved. We have a mayor and a mayor's office. The mayor is entitled to bring a number of special advisers and other people in so it is more and more cost.

I will put my view on the record because I am not sitting on the ditch. I am not in favour of the current proposal or draft, as vague as it is. With regard to the bit I can understand, I am not in favour of a directly elected mayor for Dublin city.

I do not have many questions so I will use my time to set out my understanding of the witnesses' submissions to us. They talk about clarity of roles and I agree with that. Regarding the economic challenges, they want to do business. Businesspeople are in business to do business. They are in business for profit. They want a vibrant and safe city and people living in the city but that can all be focused on with the structures we have. Regarding devolution of powers, who are we taking the powers from and to whom are the powers being given? Where are we getting the funding from and who are we giving it to? Where is the transparency in all of that? Where is the accountability? People already tell us that there is no accountability in local government. I constantly review the local government auditing reports. I see the concerns of the local government auditor about money and the need to use it wisely.

The accountability piece is also important. I do not buy into the statement that by having a directly elected mayor, somehow it is a democratic line. We elect our city and county councillors every five years. That is the connection. That is the democracy. We can move them in, we can move them out and we can dump them if we wish.

There are complexities around the costs and revenue-raising powers because businesses are paying too much into the Local Government Fund or to support local government. If we want our cities and counties to be vibrant, there needs to be a level playing pitch for people. I am pro-enterprise and I believe enterprise, be it micro or large, needs to be supported.

There are also challenges around planning that need to be addressed. I am taking one thing away from this meeting, which is really good in terms of this engagement. There is a real need for greater clarity on all the issues. There needs to be more collaboration with the chambers, the PPNs and our councillors, who are elected, cross-party and none, to do the work. What is the key message the witnesses would like to get across today? Perhaps I am misunderstanding something but am I right in taking it that they see this proposal as being premature and believe that we need more time and clarity?