Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

The Dublin local authorities will be required to take the necessary steps in relation to their functional area to attain the objectives of the Dublin region waste management plan. Nothing changes.

On water policy, the regional authority of Dublin will have the power to make a water services strategic plan for the Dublin region on proposal from the mayor. The mayor will put a proposal in regard to the provision of water to the regional authority, which will be reviewed every six years. There is much reviewing and consultation in regard to water policy, much as there is in regard to transport and waste policy. The regional authority of Dublin may not make or replace a water services strategic plan which in the opinion of the mayor is inappropriate. It would be interesting to hear the definition of "inappropriate".

In terms of the duties and responsibilities of the directly elected mayor, the mayor and regional authority of Dublin will have no power in regard to housing policy. The four Dublin regional housing authorities are required, when making a housing services plan, to have regard to the objectives of the regional authority in Dublin and to furnish the authority with a copy of the draft housing services plan, no more and no less.

In terms of the other powers of the mayor, which the Minister alleges is a powerful office, the mayor may give a direction to the Dublin local authority requiring that the local authority must act or refrain from acting in a particular manner so as to ensure compliance with a regional planning water or waste plan, but before doing so the mayor must consult with the local authority in question. The local authority must comply with such a direction of consultation. The mayoral direction may not be inconsistent with the Minister's policy or view. The Minister makes the decision.

The point I am making is that all of the various lofty ideas enunciated through the contribution of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the debate earlier are meaningless. This particular office has no clout or influence and no opportunity to exert that influence in regard to the issues of housing, water, waste and planning.

The mayor has no real power over the preparation or use of local authority budgets. The managers of the Dublin local authorities are only required to consult with the mayor when preparing a draft budget at the same time as consulting with the relevant local authorities' corporate policy group. The mayor may make recommendations on the draft budget to the manager but the manager and the local authority concerned are required to have regard to the mayor's recommendations in the preparation and adoption of the budget, and they can then duly ignore that person. The mayor, having consulted with the local authorities, can make recommendations but he or she has no power or influence over the outcome of that particular consultation.

The Bill proposes the establishment of a range of new quangos and other bodies at a time when the Government is attempting to streamline and cut costs. The Bill proposes the establishment of a Dublin regional authority office plus associated staff; an office of Dublin mayor plus associated staff; a National Transport Authority Dublin advisory board; a Dublin regional authority development board; and an unlimited number of inter-authority committees and mayoral advisory committees. What a waste of time and resources at this particular point in our history when the country is on its knees financially. Why would the Minister set up more quangos instead of removing the ones not currently required?

Fine Gael has no difficulty with a meaningful and powerful position being adopted by the citizens of Dublin to elect somebody who will give focus and attention to the many issues required to be resolved in Dublin across a range of services and programmes but we will not go along with the establishment of an office because the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in the programme for Government, wishes such a person to be elected. This person is to be elected for the sake of having somebody there, in addition to the existing four local authorities and the four managers, with the same level of public representation. That is fantasy land. That is in line with what one would expect in a totalitarian regime in eastern Europe in the past - a communistic regime. This sort of diktat from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, by establishing such a figurehead, is nonsense in these straitened financial times.

I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Cuffe, to review the decision to proceed in 2011 and put it back in line with the local government elections, as he already outlines in section 85 of the Bill, and to take a common sense approach regarding the powers and influence of this position but, equally, to have some consideration for ordinary people in businesses in Dublin city and county who are paying sufficient costs to local authorities currently at a time when they need to keep their costs down. We do not need another vanity project by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government that will put a tax on the people of Dublin through the creation of an unnecessary office at this time.

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