Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012. Everybody in this House will acknowledge that the reform of local government is badly needed. To be honest, it should have been tackled a long time ago. The Government has no choice other than to find savings. If we are to do this, we must eradicate any identified inefficiencies in services. When examining the Bill, I noticed some of the bodies being dissolved are of the type most people will never have heard of, let alone know what they do. For example, the Local Government Computer Services Board was established in 1975 to provide advice and to help local authorities with their ICT systems. That was all very well and good in 1975 when the world, never mind Ireland, was very much in its infancy with regard to ICT, software and so on. However, we now live in a very high-tech society and children as young as five or six are equipped to use computers. Admittedly, there can be problems with any system which will require outside assistance but this cannot justify the existence of an entirely separate body.

Every business in this country has to constantly re-examine how it works. They are always looking at new ways of doing things to see how they can work smarter and more efficiently to improve margins and to reduce costs. This is particularly the case since the economic downturn. Businesses must now eliminate waste and increase efficiency to survive. It is important that the public service follows this example and continues to look at more efficient and effective ways to deliver services.

Dissolving these bodies and transferring functions back to local government is a step in the right direction in terms of creating a more accountable service. I am firmly of the belief that a one-stop shop for services is the way forward. There are times when people almost feel they would require a sat-nav to find out to where they need to go when trying to locate the right Department or section, never mind trying to find the right person. This is not good. It means people can be brushed off and told it is a matter for a different section, which creates a lack of accountability and serious frustration for the customer.

The Local Government Efficiency Review Group recommends the establishment of a number of joint administrative structures covering two counties for the purpose of joint management teams and pooled corporate functions. I agree shared services are a positive move, particularly with regard to IT, HR and financial services. However, it is important that each county should have its own county manager. Each county is, after all, individual in its own right.

I can speak only for my own constituency and we are very lucky in that I know the respective county managers in Cavan and Monaghan do excellent work. I strongly urge the Minister not to allow a situation whereby we would have only one manager serving two counties as this would cause problems in the Cavan-Monaghan constituency. There would be, no doubt, certain areas that would feel they were being left on the periphery, depending on where the managers are based. I do not believe this is desirable as it has the potential to create a "them and us" mentality between the two counties with regard to various projects and funding allocations.

Local government is often seen as the poor relation to central government. However, I am proud to say I served as member of Monaghan County Council for eight years prior to my election to Dáil Éireann. In that time, I saw first-hand the positive side of local government. It is important that, while recognising reform is necessary, we also give credit where it is due. County councils were the first to feel the effects of the downturn and bore the brunt of initial cutbacks. This means that, in recent years, local authorities have managed to deliver a very good standard of service on vastly reduced budgets.

I do not share the views of Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan regarding the service he received from the county council. My experience of Monaghan County Council was a much better one. Genuine, hard-working engineers and council staff do their best and often go way beyond the call of duty to serve the people of the county. It disappoints me to hear elected Members making disparaging comments about county council staff because they are always an easy target - it is a populist thing to do.

I commend the Minister on bringing forward the Bill and on his continued efforts to reform local government. I would impress upon him the importance of consulting and involving local authorities, both staff and elected members, in the reform process as they have much to offer in this regard. They have on-the-ground experience and I believe it is buy-in at local level that will ensure success. While central Government is often more detached from events on the ground, there is a great level of connectivity between people and the members of the local council. It is very important that this sense of community and connectivity is not lost.

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