Mr. Richy Carrothers:

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the committee for the invitation that was extended to Fórsa ahead of this important discussion on the future of local democracy. Fórsa is a trade union representing more than 85,000 members. It represents members in the public sector as well as the commercial sector, State enterprises, some private companies and the community and voluntary sector. With regard to this debate, we have more than 12,000 members working across the 31 city and county councils. They work in professions including clerical, administration, management, technical, professional and also as general operatives across the greater Dublin area.

Local government represents the greatest interface between citizens and the State. It touches on every aspect of our daily lives and affects every citizen, young and old alike. It affects our schools, homes and public parks, and it is in our work, play and general recreation.

Local government is the greatest and most underused resource. It connects with our daily lives and impacts on everyone who lives and works in Ireland. Our network of local services and amenities are the very fabric of our society. They are the roots that bind our community together, and our integrated network of autonomous local authorities is uniquely positioned as the most direct and immediate democratic mechanism for managing our society, both economically and socially. Yet, our local government has never been fully utilised or given the authority or support to fulfil its enormous potential.

Austerity, privatisation, executive direction and centralisation have hollowed out our public services and stripped local authorities and communities of their democratic power. Ireland now has the worst level of local representation and the weakest local government of any country in Europe. Local government represents the greatest interrelationship between the citizens and the State, as I said, and it must be protected, promoted and strengthened.

Today, our local government is actively being degraded. Essential public services such as housing, water, energy and waste are being undermined, and trust in our system of government is being eroded day by day. At the height of the financial crisis, 10,000 jobs were lost in the local government sector, the greatest proportion of jobs in any sector in the public service. We believe the correlation between the loss of these posts and the centralisation, loss of services to communities, democratic deficits and the perception of disempowerment among communities can be tracked.

However, the sector is also dealing with the fallout of the financial crisis. The loss of the 10,000 jobs I spoke about, which occurred at the height of the financial crisis, has resulted in deep and long-term problems of grade drift and blurring of the demarcation of duties and responsibilities. This continues to cause deep and significant impact on recruitment and retention of local authority workers. In a wide-ranging survey of local government workers that Fórsa is launching next week, 40% of respondents said they were searching for a new job.

All over Europe, privatised local services are being brought back under direct local authority provision because publicly-provided services are usually better in quality, better value for money and more environmentally sustainable. Fórsa believes that it is time to bring power closer to the people by creating decent local employment through the direct provision of local authority services. It is time to reform Irish local government to reflect the European principle of subsidiarity.

Local government can be an important source of economic development in providing quality jobs while local authorities across Europe are playing a leading role in transitioning to low-carbon renewable energy. We need to build an Irish local democracy and citizen participation to build strong local communities based on good jobs, decent incomes and to address the climate emergency.

Fórsa would say that our democracy has been eroded by more than a decade of austerity, which cut budgets and slashed council staffing by a quarter; the centralisation of services like water, driving licences and higher education grants; the privatisation of services like refuse collection and housing; and excessive executive direction and new management processes that have increase bureaucratic powers at the expense of political representativeness.

Fórsa believes that there are a number of reforms that would enhance local government, covering water, waste, housing and energy services, and these include: further legislative changes to facilitate the directly elected mayors with real power and funding; reimagined local democracy underpinned by citizen engagement; increased revenue and funding powers with parallel systems of accountability and transparency to move the percentage of local authority-managed public spending towards the European average; an immediate end to the outsourcing of council housing maintenance, and a shift to a new local authority-led housing model; stronger regulation of wastewater, to ensure that every household has access to an affordable waste disposal service; a constitutional referendum on the right to water, which should enshrine that water and wastewater services remain in public ownership and control forever; and importantly, based on what we heard last night, an investment in local authority environmental and sustainable energy infrastructure and staff to facilitate the maximum use of the SEAI better energy programmes.

The nature of our society is rapidly changing. Technology, environmental crises and social change mean that the way we work and live is constantly evolving. Strengthening Ireland's local authorities offers us the unique opportunity to establish a new and better system of local government, one that truly reflects and represents the changing nature of our diverse society. We need to strengthen local government as an effective force to improve local services and public provision to our communities. We in Fórsa have scoped out opportunities for new and renewed local provision, including insourced models on local lead and international best practice. As we move closer to the local elections on 7 June, there is a real opportunity for a changed and improved system of local government and services, and we want to see decentralisation of decision-making.

There are far-right forces at work who are exploiting and wedging long-standing problems in health and housing to sow the seeds of hate and division in our communities. Racism has no place in Irish society, and we in the trade union movement stand in solidarity with those who have escaped conflict, oppression, climate and economic catastrophe to come to Ireland in search of a safe and better life. We call on political parties and candidates to be strong in the forthcoming local elections and stand in solidarity with refugees and asylum seekers against right-wing, reactionary forces whipping up hysteria and hatred. No one should game vulnerable people for their own political gain.

We have a vision for enhanced public provision. Strong local government, which provides localised, efficient and effective services, is the cornerstone of our healthy democracy. We are proposing an enhanced role for local government in effective service provision, decision-making and rebuilding the confidence of the people in local democracy, while we must acknowledge that society is rapidly changing and that how we live our lives is constantly evolving.

Finally - to cut it short - we understand and trust that the system of government is essentially in the delivery of core public services but years of austerity and financial crises have eroded the people's trust in government and seen the rise of extreme and populist movements across the world. By strengthening and protecting local government, we would empower citizens to play a more direct role in shaping communities and tackling the issues that affect them. Importantly, strengthening local government is the only enduring way of reclaiming trust in our institutions and system of government in our society. With the help of the committee, we can improve local services for our communities and future generations to come.

We call on the committee to build with us a better system of local government and local services. The people demand and deserve a local government system that is fair, open, transparent and well-funded, and a system of local democracy that is connected, accessible and accountable. Community enhancement and empowerment are the key ingredients to achieving improved local democracy. I have 34 seconds left, so that is okay. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gcoiste.