Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is cúpla nóiméad. Ar an gcéad dul síos, cuirim fáilte roimh Noel Dempsey agus an Teachta Phelan, an Teachta Ó Cuív agus an Teachta Howlin. Is díospóireacht an-tábhachtach í seo. I wish to express míle fáilte to the four witnesses. They are experienced and have achieved a lot. Like others, I wish Deputy Howlin the very best for the future. Since I came to the Houses of the Oireachtas in 2016, Deputy Howlin has been nothing but a gentleman. He is conversationist, chatty and helpful all around. I always appreciated that.

A lot of the questions have been asked. I start by slightly disagreeing with Mr. Dempsey and Deputy Phelan; I think town councils are a major loss. For example, in my own area there are towns like Ballinasloe, where there are 7,000 people, and Athlone. I believe towns like Ballinasloe and Athlone have lost out because they lack town councils. However, I absolutely agree with not having town councils where there are smaller towns and smaller populations, but we should have a serious look at Ballinasloe and Athlone. Would any of the witnesses agree with a type of town council system for larger towns?

As for municipal districts, there are a lot of good points and things that have happened with them. However, I give an example of the size of municipal districts in rural areas. While Mr. Dempsey and Deputy Ó Cuív know Roscommon well, the other witnesses may not. On crossing the bridge at Termonbarry into County Roscommon travelling to Knock and almost to Carracastle in County Mayo, that whole county and north of it is part of the Boyle municipal district. Under the present system where councillors are not full time nor paid, it is literally impossible for any councillor to cover that area. Not only is it so vast and rural, but there are now so many other issues councillors have to deal with in modern society. Would the witnesses be in favour of reforming those municipal districts? There were six electoral areas in rural Roscommon and now there are three. That does not work. However, I acknowledge that there have been some good things in the municipal districts and a lot of councillors will say that.

I wish to make the final point that the town team scenario has not worked on the basis that those who are democratically elected are locked out. The only time they are not locked out is when there is a Part 8 vote. They are basically forced into voting against particular issues in their town that are not going to be for the benefit of the town. I wish to mention to mention my own town of Strokestown. It will probably get more funding than ever. It is massive funding and while many of the proposed changes are good, the beautiful, wide streets, which are such a feature of Strokestown - it has the second-widest streets in the country - will be destroyed by what council consultants said, even when the local councillors and people know it is not the right thing. That is a pity. Our councillors in many respects have been locked out of these situations until there is a vote and such pressure is put on them. One of the first things that may be said to them by the executive or others is, "So you're going to vote the money down for your town." That is an unfair way to treat people who have been elected by the people of that town. How can this be addressed? It is doing a lot of damage at the moment to local authority and to local authority members. They will be damaged by this in the local elections that are coming up.

I thank the Chair.