Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. My first question is for Mr. Collins on the legislation and the role of the Minister. He stated the Minister's role is to provide a comprehensive legislative and policy framework but then the Minister is precluded from exercising any power or control with regard to the performance of local authorities and their functions. It is 22 years since the legislation was introduced. Does Mr. Collins believe that lack of control or power from which the Minister suffers under the legislation has been good or bad? Why was it introduced? It strikes me that the most controversial move after the introduction of the legislation was the building of the incinerator in Ringsend, which was strongly opposed by the local community, local councillors and the council in general. I was a councillor and three times we voted against it going ahead, rightly or wrongly. It meant we had no recourse to Parliament to ask whether it could do something about it. Instead, the city manager made the decision, first under John Tierney and later under the current regime in Dublin City Council. The power the Minister has to listen to the democratic wishes of the people was totally removed. I assume Mr. Collins will say it is a good thing that we have an incinerator up and running and working and that the people did not get their way. Does he not think there is a democratic deficit in how waste management policy is structured? I will come back to another reason I believe it does not just apply to incineration.