Councillor Willie Callaghan:

On behalf of the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland, I thank the joint committee for inviting me to address it following the recent publication of the Local Government Reform Bill 2013. Our organisation is a representative body for 80 town councils which have serious concerns about the Bill as proposed. It will result in the loss of 80 town councils and a reduction of 678 councillors. Like so much else that passes for reform these days, it is a populist endeavour. Our organisation does not oppose reform; on the contrary: we have been asking for it for years. However, once we scrutinised the Bill, our confidence that the legislation would deliver real reform evaporated. While it contains some positive measures, it does not go far enough. We are not confident that, as proposed, it will not deliver real reform.

In the past ten months we have been working with all stakeholders to develop a consistent reform agenda for local government. Two and a half years ago we published our own policy on reform. In April this year we outlined our vision for the powers and functions of the new municipal district councils. My fellow councillors and I believe in the spirit of the Government’s reform agenda. However, reform needs to happen at all levels of our democracy to ensure the people are served by a political system that is accountable, functional, democratic and local. As an association representing elected representatives at local level, we see at first-hand the need for reform at the lowest level of the political system. Local communities and their democratically elected representatives are best placed to decide what works best in their areas and what services are required. In many European countries councils are involved with the government in decisions that affect their local areas. They have diverse powers in areas such as early learning and education, social welfare and health care services and policing. These are the areas in which reform is needed to allow councillors to have an input on behalf of their communities. The end result of the current reform process, if not amended, will be one of the most centralised states in the European Union.

The Bill contains no fresh initiatives such as tax increment financing or an overhauled commercial rates system that would provide a badly needed shot in the arm for local economies. We believe local government should involve the retention of town councils and the creation of new town councils in towns which do not have such councils. The AMAI calls on Deputies and Senators to amend this legislation to ensure it will deliver on the promise of real reform. The establishment of the new municipal district councils at the expense of town councils is not a panacea for the current inadequacies of local government; nevertheless, it is what we are presented with in the Local Government Bill 2013. For the past two years the Minister has been quoted as saying he is not abolishing town councils but rather that he will enhance them. How can a body be enhanced when its financial powers are taken away?

We are presenting to the committee a number of amendments to the Bill which we believe would redress this situation somewhat. I urge members to support them. They call for greater transparency and a more decentralised democratic system. They are designed to enhance the Bill in order to best serve the people and reduce the democratic deficit.

I draw the attention of members to the extent to which the detail of implementation is not contained in the Bill but will be subject to further regulations and guidelines, to be enacted at a later date. That is somewhat disingenuous. Our members, just like the committee, are being asked to support the Bill in the absence of the clarity needed to allow us to make an informed decision. In the interests of transparency, it is imperative to have greater clarity. The financial mechanisms which will apply to the new municipal district councils are but one example of this deficit.

Two issues, in particular, are core principles for the AMAI. The first is the amendment which relates to the financial autonomy of the proposed municipal district councils. The Bill, as proposed, envisages that municipal district councils will be unable to determine the main financial income, commercial rates and property tax, but as elected representatives, we will have to answer to our electors for how these funds are being spent. Money matters because whoever controls it determines what services are put in place and the manner in which they are delivered. In areas across Ireland the ability to use the moneys for their own betterment is critical to their lifeblood and vibrancy. In my own town of Naas there is no doubt that the direct reinvestment of local charges and taxes has been of significant benefit in attracting investment and employment. The abolition of town councils ends that financial autonomy. Any reform of local government must safeguard these principles.

The second core principle relates to the issue of subsidiarity. This principle is recognised in all EU member states and strongly protected by the EU governing institutions. Our European partners are concerned that this principle should be sufficiently protected under the legislation and many in Europe share the AMAI’s view that subsidiarity is not being upheld under the legislation, as proposed.

Last week I led a deputation to Strasbourg to meet members of the Council of Europe to address our concerns about this legislation. Ireland is a signatory to the Council’s European Charter of Local Self-Government. The charter places fundamental importance on the preservation of subsidiarity. The Council has confirmed our view that subsidiarity has been weakened under the Bill, as proposed. The EU Congress of Local and Regional Authorities accepted the report of its own monitoring committee on local government in Ireland. One of its recommendations in its report urges the Government to “strengthen their legislation in order to ensure that the Subsidiarity Principle is better enshrined and protected in the law”. It is vital that this principle is upheld. It has been suggested by colleagues that we follow the example of what has happened in Northern Ireland and Scotland, but that is not the view of our organisation. We have seen the results of that policy in England. The English local government system has not worked and is in the process of being changed.

On the question of having a town mayor and Cathaoirleach, the Minister does not seem to have a problem with larger towns and municipal districts keeping their office of mayor. This is important because many towns are in twinning arrangements with towns all over Europe and the office of mayor is held in greater respect than that of Cathaoirleach. Many people from other countries cannot pronounce the word "Cathaoirleach".

It is vital we hold on to it.

We are grateful for the opportunity to come here to speak before the committee and we have possible amendments for the proposed Bill. I will ask my colleagues, Councillors Tommy Moylan and Patricia McCarthy, to go through them.