Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I do not want it to be only the Chair and Deputy Hourigan making this point. Language is important. The phrase "local authorities" has been used. Most of the public hear that in an entirely different way. They hear it as meaning the people they elected to represent them. This is not who we are talking about here. Really it underpins, if anything, that we do not have a local government system. We have a local system of administration where the power really resides. It really does underpin this when "local authorities" is said without differentiating that it is at official level and not at local authority level.