Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to comment on the proposed amendments. Reading what the Minister is proposing here one would think that council meetings down the country are a bit like the wild west. We have all seen robust exchanges in town councils and county councils. However, council meetings seldom have to be adjourned due to disruptive behaviour. Much of this is wide open to interpretation by the cathaoirleach who is elected by the majority group. This measure is wide open to abuse to penalise members of smaller parties and independents. A cathaoirleach backed by a majority grouping could impose these heavy penalties on such people. Over the years, I have seen people acting the clown and wasting time at council meetings, but they were not from the smaller groupings. They might kick the table to get attention and grab a headline, hoping the local media will pick up on it. They then go home and the job is done for another month. We have all sat through such frustrating sessions.

In general, however, there are robust exchanges at council meetings. Councillors argue their case according to their political philosophy and represent the community. It is therefore unnecessary to impose these serious penalties on councillors. By and large, councillors of all parties are committed to their civic duties. They are there to represent the public. If they behave robustly at times, a cathaoirleach - who may not like them for whatever reasons, personal or otherwise - may impose penalties like these by ramming them through. We will be opening up something that has the potential to penalise members of smaller parties and independents in particular.