Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

Not so long ago, I was a councillor and a proud member of the Southern Regional Assembly for about ten years. I think I see Mr. David Kelly in the background. Many a battle I had with him. I think about the most recent regional economic and spatial strategy where we were tearing the hair out of our heads over population projections and trying to form alliances with other local authorities so that the big cities were not capturing all that population. Here I am now asking why were we even fighting over population.

I welcome everyone here today. I acknowledge the other directors as well, particularly Ms Clare Bannon, with whom I worked during my time on the European Committee of the Regions. I welcome the submission to the local democracy task force by the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly. I presume this was on behalf of all the assemblies or maybe was that just on behalf of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly? I am not sure if the other assemblies made submissions as well. Yes. Sorry, I did not see the other submissions. I also acknowledge the submission also from the Irish Regions European Office to that local democracy task force.

I will not get into the granular detail of those reports but I do know from my ten years on the regional assemblies that I was very frustrated. Notwithstanding frustrations at the local level within our local authorities and the reserved functions we have, I felt at the regional level we had little or no reserved functions. I want to ask each of the witnesses, based on their own experiences in their own time on the regional assemblies, what reforms and what additional statutory powers might strengthen their role and, indeed, a wider role for the assemblies? Any of the witnesses might want to comment on that. What improved reforms or additional statutory powers would help their roles on the regional assemblies? Do the witnesses share the frustrations that I had over ten years at the lack of reserved functions?