Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the delegation for its presentation which I caught on television before I got down here. It is refreshing to hear people who are members of the Government asking robust questions about this issue because I did not think it would happen and I congratulate the ones who have. It is interesting and gives me some hope.

The Department looked at other models of local government around the world, for example, in Switzerland. What models did the Department look at? Like anything, there is no point in reinventing the wheel when there are good versions of it already. How will the proposed system enhance the role of a local representative when it comes to holding the executive to account? Under the current system, it was the other way around. My experience and that of many other people was that the more one held them to account, the less they answered the phone. It is troublesome if that has not been improved.

When the Department looked at cost savings, did it consider the wages of county managers? In Roscommon, we pay the county manager 50% more than is paid to the Spanish Prime Minister. It seems that planning powers are being taken away from county councillors. Why does the Department believe elected representatives are in a sense less trustworthy than un-elected people because that is what it suggests? I would prefer someone who was elected and who I have the choice to put out if I was not happy with him or her making these decisions. A member of the delegation spoke about how section 140 is rarely used. I know of several occasions where councillors wanted to use it but they pulled back because they were afraid of the consequences of doing so. In other words, the telephone would not be answered yet again.

If the Department was really interested in devolving power to the lowest possible level, why not have more town councils with more powers? They do not necessarily have to cost money. Someone once told me that all they could see in the reform was that the Department got rid of the cheap councillors and kept the expensive ones. If someone from the delegation could answer those questions, I would appreciate it.