James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

This is a nonsensical Bill. It is a vanity project as well as being a waste of time and money. Fingal County Council has put the price of this post at between €8 million and €10 million recurring. These costs will be foisted on the ratepayers of Fingal and other Dublin council areas at a time when businesses are hanging on by their fingernails. The recession was created by the very Minister who now wants to impose this useless position on the public. I am honoured to be speaking after Deputy Catherine Byrne, a former Lord Mayor of Dublin, who understands the value of that role. However, what this Bill proposes is nonsensical. There will be very little influence in terms of waste management, water, transport or planning. It really is a disgraceful waste of money and I utterly oppose it in its current form.

See this speech in context