Mr. Richy Carrothers:

I appreciate the comments of members, and Fórsa appreciates the fact our presence is appreciated. I am a local government person and housing officer by trade. I come to the local government sector as someone who is very interested in the connection with the local community. Our divisional cathaoirleach is also the cathaoirleach of our branch in Fingal County Council. We are here because we want local government to work. There were some references to industrial issues over the past 12 months and there will be other time for that, but it is important to note that 40% of people are looking for new work within the local government sector. Senator O'Reilly was bang on in his comments. The local government jobs were the most coveted jobs in the public sector. It was all the aspirations he spoke about that people had. In fact, people left over parts of the public sector to come into the local government sector, but it is no longer the job of choice. Let us be clear about that.

I might give a couple of other statistics that illustrate this. Four out of five respondents to our survey believe they are carrying out work at a higher level without it being reciprocated. Job evaluation is in nearly every other part of the public sector but not in the local government sector. One finding that surprised me was that 80% of respondents to this comprehensive survey said they had suffered abuse or harassment at the hands of service users or the public. It is no longer the fatted calf or the job people want, as it may have been in the past. I reiterate that local government workers have a tripartite interest in this debate and this success. They are workers in their own right, they are taxpayers but they are also service users. They are the people who live in their local communities. They are in our GAA clubs, our soccer clubs and our running clubs. It is not something they are external to, and the success of the sector is success for them in their own right. Senator Black referred to the continuum of democratic deficits and the lack of connection from decision-makers. Decision-makers have been disempowered and the centralisation of decisions in the Houses of the Oireachtas and quangos is disempowering local communities. It is interesting that people have said broadly the same things. Ours is the weakest form of local government in Europe and the least representative form of local government in Europe, and all the bodies here and people in the political system are pointing in that direction. That is a strong trajectory to get the system right and to improve the lived experiences for local people.

As Senator Boyhan said, we need greater interaction. Certainly, from a Fórsa perspective, we want to influence policymakers and to impress on decision-makers how to strengthen local government. Next week, the local government trade unions are going to launch their More Power to You campaign, which is about the reinvigoration of the local government sector in advance of the elections. I would appreciate a conversation over a cup of coffee with Senator Cassells about the remunicipalisation of waste because the model throughout Europe is about bringing services in house and taking them back from the private sector. As they say in Dublin, bring back the bins.