Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

The Green Party is always concerned when it sees power drifting upwards. One of the more important issues in a democracy is that the representatives of that democracy do their utmost to ensure that power is exercised at the lowest effective level. I am nervous when legislation is introduced in a hurry, particularly legislation that will give the Government and Ministers significant powers to decide what will be criminal offences for Irish citizens under EU law. The penalties which can be imposed under this legislation can amount to €500,000 in fines and/or three years imprisonment.

We need a lively debate on what functions should be carried out respectively by the European Union, the national Parliament and its Departments and at local level. Local government, in terms of its powers, is very much an empty vessel compared to its equivalents in most other countries in Europe. We need to invigorate local government by giving it the powers it deserves. We should also be careful of giving powers to Ministers to determine what will or will not be indictable offences. Section 2 of this Bill is very powerful. There has not been a good debate about it, as we are coming to the issue late in the day. There should be an extensive debate about what powers should be given to Government, Brussels and to local government.

See this speech in context