Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

There is considerable scope to give more powers and fund-raising capacity to fewer local politicians. Given the size of the State, there are simply too many of them.

I strongly support the principle, evident in our policy on the provision of primary care, that the end-user should be brought as close as possible to the suppliers of services. That also applies to local government and services provided locally. I urge the Minister to continue on the path on which he is travelling, not by virtue of being forced to impose the cost of services on the people but by guaranteeing that where they do have to pay, the services they receive are of a standard that offers good value for money.

I have studied some of the figures for other OECD countries, particularly the United Kingdom and what could be described as western Europe. They show that such charges are significantly lower in Ireland than in most European countries and dramatically lower than in Northern Ireland and Britain. In many parts of Britain the charges are higher than those which apply in Northern Ireland. Deputy Deering mentioned €1,500 as being an average figure. However, it does not include the water and sewerage charge which averages out at some £300. Therefore, the charge in Northern Ireland is closer to €2,000 on average, with many households paying more than this sum.

For the same services, we are introducing a charge of €100 per annum. Nobody likes to have to pay additional charges, but this particular charge amounts to approximately half of what we pay for our television licence. The devil will be in the detail in future years. We must see evidence of improved autonomy, integrity and responsibility on the part of local authorities. People will accept this charge in time, just as they accept similar charges all over the world. If a service is good, people do not object to paying for it.

I commend the Minister for the broad range of measures he has introduced in the area of local government reform. I wish him well as he continues his endeavours in this regard.

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