Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be quick because I know that other speakers want to come in on this. I welcome the witnesses here today. Having served as a councillor myself, I know how hard they work and how little they are listened to.

Local authorities are not being listened to by the Minister in relation to their budgetary shortfalls. Local authority budgets are made up of charges in respect of local property taxes, rent, waste, parking, planning fees, motor taxes and rates. They cannot charge people any more without crippling them financially. If the local authorities are experiencing budget shortfalls at the end of the year and they are reporting this to the Minister but he is refusing to provide more central Government funding then we have a problem. There is nobody speaking up for local authorities and councillors. This is a massive issue. The powers which councillors previously had have been taken from them and they are dwindling further. This is unfair. At the end of the day, the local authorities and councillors do not have a say in any of this and that concerns me.

Reference was made to revaluations. The revaluation of commercial properties is ongoing. Much of this revaluation is based on outdated maps. There has been no updated measurement of premises. Also, the cost of appealing a decision is approximately €400. Who is fighting for these businesses that are paying their rates and in doing so are barely surviving? The local authorities are being left to deal with all of these issues and that is unacceptable. I am sure all of the witnesses are aware of the national planning framework 2040. We have all worked on local development plans down through the years. If the new framework plan is implemented local authorities will have no remit in terms of development, job creation and so on. I accept the framework is only a guideline but-----