Mr. Alan Edge:

I want to pick up on a few themes that have emerged. I will first look at diversity and the question of the rise of the far right. If I had known that Daithí de Róiste was going to bring his charter along and launch it today, I would have launched my own. Let me give it a little plug now anyway. It has a much more limited compass but is on a very important issue, specifically the rights of asylum seekers and people seeking international protection. We have a serious issue that is undermining our democracy as a whole, namely, the victimising of these people. This is essentially a charter that is going out to community groups all over the county asking them to recognise that the right to seek asylum is a fundamental human right and a question of human dignity, and asking them to support the right of those seeking international protection to flourish and thrive. There was a soft launch yesterday, if I can put it that way. The email went out to a number of clubs and, as of this morning, 50 had got back to me in the affirmative. We will be doing a formal launch down the line.

That is an example of councillors and local authorities carving out a role for themselves in the absence of any real devolved powers. As I said, we have a unique connection to community groups. We have the power to influence people. I have reached out to politicians across the political spectrum and they have said they are interested. However, my focus is really on community groups and their reach and the fact we can act as a conduit and build a consensus that way.

To respond to another point that was raised, I am bound to say the executive in South Dublin have been extraordinarily supportive. We have been working very hard together to ensure all of the people in the local authority are respected and not victimised and subjected to disinformation. I have an excellent relationship with the chief executive and he has been fully supportive of this initiative.

I will raise a couple of other matters. The meitheal idea is something we have been doing very well in South Dublin. Our current chief executive was formerly the head of the community department. We have a huge amount of work going on. A number of people who are international protection applicants are working with local communities, in particular the older community groups such as the Tidy Towns group, planting Stepping Stone forests and so on. There is huge potential. There is also evidence that local authorities, local councillors and the executive are willing and able to do more than they are currently doing. A fundamental piece of that is the community piece mentioned by Senator O’Reilly. This is essential. A part of combating the rise of the far right and disinformation is reaching into the community from the ground up, which is very important.

In terms of funding, the Senator makes an excellent point. We have kind of skirted around the issue. To be clear, I think we should have the power to raise our own funds, whether that be levying a tax or otherwise, so long as it is made clear to people. One of the difficulties in this country is that people are chary about taxation because they do not necessarily see the benefits. The problem with the LPT, which in fairness has been partially resolved now, is that it would be impossible to sell to our constituents taxation in South Dublin if probably a good portion of it is going to mend potholes in Leitrim and Roscommon. No offence to Leitrim and Roscommon, but that is a difficult sell. If we are able to empower local authorities and say they have the power to do this, and explain where that taxation will go and that people will be able to see the results in their local community, then we can and should do that.

I am not going to deal at length with the issue of the turnover of councillors. We had a fairly significant turnover of councillors in South Dublin, which is regrettable. A higher number of women councillors have not continued, and these are very able people and people of calibre. There are two aspects to this. First, if local authorities and councillors are not more empowered, it will become nigh on impossible to attract people of that calibre. The second point, of course, is that they need to be supported. For people who have families or have their own businesses, it is simply not a viable option for them and, certainly, for people coming from more disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, there is no way in for them unless we provide the supports. That covers some if not all of those points.