Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

If Deputy Murphy wishes to discuss the matter of town councils further, I would be delighted to do so outside the House.

To answer Deputy Cuffe's question, if one looks at comments I have made since becoming Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, one will see that I am anxious to stop the trend to which he referred, namely the movement of power away from local government and towards central Government. The issue, in the context of the criticisms made by Deputy Gilmore earlier, has been the movement of power away from councillors to the management of local authorities. I am not in favour of that trend developing any further and, in the Waste Services Bill that we are processing in the House, I have reversed that process.

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