Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the delegation from LAMA. I compliment that organisation on the leadership it has provided for many years. There are two matters that are worthy of consideration. The first is the remuneration and conditions of councillors and the second is the overall position with regard to reform. I will deal with reform first. Have our guests given any consideration to where their organisation and its members fit not only into the reform of local government but also into the overall reform of the democratic system? A very interesting debate took place during the campaign for the referendum on the proposed abolition of Seanad Éireann, and one of the issues that arose regularly was how the Upper House could be considered in isolation from the overall reform of the democratic system. The position is the same in respect of local government, which does not exist in isolation from the remainder of the system. If one were to ask a constituent which representative was most available-----