Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In his presentation, Mr. Dowling stated that structures have changed little since Victorian times. When considering the county council system and the county being selected as the core, it does not appear to me that anything much has altered. While the area committees have been an improvement, much of what happened at town council level has not been a duplication. Instead, there has been a community building role at that level, which is a soft service as opposed to some of the harder services which obviously are the bread and butter of county councils. I am seriously concerned that the entire area of community building will be lost.