Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)

In order to get real accountability, we need massive change. An indication that this change will not occur came from a Deputy on the Government side earlier in the year when he reminded us that while there is plenty of talk about local government reform, Members seem to forget that the consequence of that is that we will have less power in this House. So what? That is not what this is about. It is not about me or the Minister being almighty or powerful. It is about going about and bringing about reform the right way. If this means that we no longer have power over local issues, so be it. In fact, I say "hurrah" to that. Our job here is to cross the t's and dot the i's on legislation. However, under the current system we are pulled and dragged between local and national government and, either way, this does not work out.

I met a business group from Roscommon on Monday night on the issue of what could be done about rates. I had to tell the group the truth, that under the current system it would be highly unlikely that there would be any significant reduction in rates. One of the main reasons for that is because the council is told how to spend the major part of the moneys it gets. With regard to the remainder, on which the council can make a decision, councillors run off with their tails between their legs if threatened by the county manager that unless they vote a certain way on the budget, X, Y or Z will happen. Under the current system, unless councillors are very brave, or very politically naive as some might call me for trying to stand up to the county manager, they will be hit. Therefore, there will be no accountability until we reform that system.

Let us suppose the Minister wants to save money in the long run and a suggestion is made that places like Mayo and Roscommon should merge. That would potentially save money, but there are other ways to save the money. In my own county, there are 26 county councillors - far too many for a population of 58,000. I suggest that six or seven county councillors would be sufficient for County Roscommon. This would save €1 million immediately. These county councillors should be given real power and they should be connected to area offices all around the county. I also suggest that there should be a directly elected mayor or that a mayor should be selected from those six or seven councillors who would be given real power. This would mean that the next time somebody went to his or her county councillor because the council was not doing something right, the councillor would have the power to make the area engineer do what was necessary, rather than for the councillor to sit back and say there was not much he or she could do about it and that he or she would not do anything for the complainant.

In my area of Castlerea there are seven councillors. If somebody rings one of these councillors, that councillor might go to the area office, but generally gets no result and nothing gets done. The person might then ring another councillor and so on until all seven councillors have been rung. Each of the councillors - as I said, it is a waste of money having so many in that size of an area - wastes the area engineer's time traipsing in and out of the office. Eventually, the issue ends up at county council level where it might receive attention and get done. Perhaps the local Deputy will be brought into the issue, wasting more of the area engineer's time. If, however, the area engineer knew that the elected person had real power - someone democratically elected of whom the people were conscious and whom they knew had real power rather than some corrupt person who would ruin it all - we would have a proper improvement to the system.

I said it previously and will say it again, when I was mayor of the council I was excited about the idea of perhaps being able to do something about the rates that year. However, as Members probably already know, I was told I was not allowed to look at the figures. If the Minister amalgamates Mayo and Roscommon, but does not change anything else, we will still have the same problems and the same waste. I was confronted with a leak that ran like a bath for 11 years and the person with whom I was supposed to interface as the people's representative told me I am paid to think from the shoulders down.

Amalgamation of local authorities will not change anything unless councillors are given real power. I understand the dangers involved but I trust people to make the right decision. If they know those they elect will have a real influence over their lives, or that electing the wrong person can ruin their lives, they will think twice before they vote and we will get real change.

I get excited about the idea of local government change around the country. Approximately €70 million passes through the coffers of my county council every year. What could be done with that money? The council is proposing to construct a new headquarters costing €20 million. Even though many of the councillors believe, for ideological and practical reasons, it is a stupid project, none has opposed it because they know they will get the a lashing from the executive if they complain. If we had real power at local level we could spend the €20 million that is supposedly coming from Exchequer on real projects. At present we do not have that power, however. Amalgamation will solve nothing.

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