Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome everyone to this Seanad public hearing on the future of local democracy in Ireland. We began this process in July and put out a call for submissions. We have had three different hearings. Uniquely, we had a representative of the Democratic Unionist Party in this Chamber talking about their challenges in Northern Ireland under their elected bodies association.

We have had the Association of Irish Local Government, LAMA and public representatives from all our constituency areas, including the Lord Mayor of Dublin and cathaoirligh from around the country. We have also had members of the public, former public representatives and former Ministers with responsibility for local government giving of their insight and their views as regards the past 30 years of change, some of it good, a lot of it not so good, such as the stripping away of powers and the centralisation of powers and functions. Many of you have served in local government and seen responsibilities you had in respect of housing, water, roads, planning - literally what used to be the functions of local government - centralised, taken away, with unaccountable agencies put in charge. They are unaccountable not only to local government but also to Ministers and do not respond to Government Departments. That is our concern.

I thank the members of the committee. This is a select committee; it is not of the whole Seanad. People from all the political parties are part of the committee, and we have invited all the parties and different groupings within Leinster House to make submissions here today. The sequence is in alphabetical order of the parties and groupings. That is the way we have done it. Without further delay, I call on, for the Civil Engagement Group, Senator Alice-Mary Higgins. You have six minutes, Senator.