Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is no wonder that we have not reformed local government because there are so many different views. That is a perennial issue. If I may put it bluntly in this august Chamber, it is more like the discussions on Seanad reform that have been going on for as long as I have been here. Everyone is in favour of it but we cannot get around to agreeing on what reforms should be made. There are a few fundamentals in terms of local government. One is the empowering of local government like the rest of Europe does to actually make decisions and spend at local government level. The one theme that everyone has put in their questions is how we will fund it. As I said in my opening remarks, he who pays the piper calls the tune. It is not true to say that we did not look at different models of funding. Every Government has and, certainly during the crisis years, we looked fundamentally at how we could raise money at every level. The options, which are not especially dramatic, are a property tax, a local income tax or a local VAT rate. All these things are done elsewhere. Then there are ancillary measures such as a bed-night tax that cities such as Dublin and big tourism areas such as Killarney would benefit from.

When I was doing the roadshow for better local government around the country - Deputy Phelan was very honest about this - it is true that in public session councillors demanded more powers but in private they would list the powers they did not want because they would be too problematic. The intimacy of local electorates means that councillors will meet the people on whom their decisions impact every day. They talk to their neighbours and friends. I am amused by Senator Casey’s suggestion that people outside you own area would make the decision for you. It sort of negates the idea of local democracy to say we will rely on fellas who will not have to meet the people impacted by it. It is a real issue, however. How do you make impactful decisions?

One of the issues that arose in my time in the Department was the housing of Travellers. That responsibility was taken away from councillors and given to the county manager at the time because there was no enthusiasm in some councils to carry out their functions in that regard and that was something that needed to be done. Frankly, I cannot see too many councils deciding to increase local income tax or the VAT rate. Then there are distortions, which we looked at very carefully. If one county area charges a higher income tax than another, who will site a business in the higher income tax area or who will want to work there? If higher VAT is being paid in one area over another, residents will not be very pleased and will decide to do their shopping in the next county where the VAT rate is lower. None of these things are simple. It always goes back to the idea that councils will get a slice of the central cake and let other people decide on the taxation measures but give the councils the spending side. These are very fundamental issues that we have not resolved. I am interested in hearing, by way of questioning and responses, the views of colleagues on that.

I will quickly deal with a number of other issues. On town councils, Deputy Ó Cuív spoke about history being important. There is no structure of government more ancient than town councils. My borough of Wexford is from charter in the 12th century and there have been mayors for a very long time. While it is true they were restored in Victorian times, but there was an extraordinary affinity to the mayor of Wexford, the councillors in Wexford and the borough of Wexford. People knew who every councillor was in a way that I am not sure is true today. Maybe they do in smaller geographical areas such as Wexford but they certainly do not in the bigger ones.

To dress up the reform, we call them municipal districts. Rosslare municipal district does not have any municipal area. It stretches from the ring road of Wexford to Bannow Bay but there is not a sizeable town in it. It is a very big chunk of geography. Kilmuckridge municipal district in the north of the county goes around the Gorey and Enniscorthy areas and ends up on the boundary of Wexford town again. This means an elected councillor in the south of that municipal district, a couple of miles away from Wexford, will travel through the municipal district of Enniscorthy into Gorey to attend council meetings. That is why I touched on the issue of reviewing the districts. There were many other issues but I do not want to take up others’ time and I want others to be able to contribute.

We might have a separate discussion on the fundamental issue of how councillors can work in an era of misinformation and abuse online. It is a huge issue. Another committee, the European Affairs committee heard expert presentations on that very topic yesterday. We will report to the Houses on that matter as it relates to the European elections. The same issues apply to any elected person or candidate for public office. The visceral abuse, particularly for women now, is such a disincentive for people to stand.