Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We will hear from all the witnesses first and then interact through questions and answers so as to give us time for all we want to do. The running order is alphabetical based on political parties, and that is why Fianna Fáil is going first, starting with Mr. Seán Dorgan.

One of the issues that has come up here is that of qualified privilege, which means that those speaking in a chamber have some element of protection. One of the witnesses who appeared before us talked about having been told by a director of services that if an elected member went against the advice of the director of services, that elected member could be sued personally. Unfortunately, elected members do not have any recourse to independent legal advice in the pure sense of the word, so there is merit to the idea of the CCMA, AILG and LAMA getting the resources to allow for independent financial, planning and legal advice for members facing a pushback regarding decisions made. Members are not qualified barristers, planners or engineers and therefore need support in this day and age.

Another issue that continually comes up concerns town councils, regional assemblies and municipal districts. There is a debate on town councils but the idea was raised that municipal districts would elect municipal district members only. Therefore, if there were a ballot with six elected to the county council, the next three on the ballot paper would relate to municipal districts. This idea has been circulated because we have the lowest proportion of public representatives in Europe. We need more on the ground because, although the workload has increased, the resources have not. These are some of the ideas that have been raised at hearings of this committee. There are arguments for and against in respect of town councils, but these are some of the thoughts we have heard.

The general secretaries are most welcome. I call on former Senator, Seán Dorgan.