Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

I am glad of the opportunity to speak on this Bill, but I object to the manner in which the Bill is being guillotined and to the manner in which it has been presented. I object in particular to the intention to introduce significant amendments on Committee Stage, thereby introducing an almost new Bill. I object that this is happening with a Bill dealing with important issues such as the amalgamation of county councils. This is wrong and is something the Government promised it would not do. However, once again we have guillotines and significant changes being introduced to a Bill on Committee Stage by amendment. This is being done without any real consultation with stakeholders and is certainly not best practice.

I notice some of the amendments to be introduced refer to the amalgamation of local authorities, in particular, that of north and south Tipperary County Councils and Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council. I am sorry the Minister is not here to hear what I have to say on this. I am concerned by the fact that although the group that recommended the amalgamation of various local authorities recommended the amalgamation of Carlow-Killkenny County Councils among others, there is no proposal in this legislation for that amalgamation. Is the Minister looking after his own patch? Is he looking after his own patch in the same way he looked after St. Stephen's Barracks in Kilkenny, to the detriment of Kickham Barracks in Clonmel? He was reported on the front page of the local Kilkenny People making the same criticisms and comments we in Clonmel made with regard to the closure of Kickham Barracks. He said that any closure of St. Stephen's Barracks would be a huge blow to the local economy and would put soldiers and their families at a huge disadvantage. He said a closure would impose hardship and mean they had to move to other locations. I am sorry he is not here to hear me say this, but I believe that he - as many Ministers did in the past - is looking after his own patch and ensuring that Carlow-Kilkenny is looked after, to the detriment of other areas.

I say this specifically in the context of the proposed amalgamations. If one considers the ten areas recommended for amalgamation, the amalgamation of north and south Tipperary does not strike one as the most suitable. It involves two different economic regions, two different tourist regions and two different HSE areas. This to my mind is not a combination that jumps out at one as being suitable because of the significant differences between the north and south of the county, differences that have not been addressed at all. Again, it is a pity the Minister is not here to hear me say this. It needs to be said as, unfortunately, it is a fact.

I want to address the issue of local government reform. We now see a situation where the idea that "big" is best is on and centralisation is back on the agenda. Anybody who considers the situation carefully knows that big is not always best nor is it always cheaper. In the case of local authorities, big is less democratic and less responsive to local people. Take for example the establishment of the Health Service Executive. That body is not accountable to the public, to local public representatives and accepts no input from them or from local people at the old health committee level. This is not an example we should follow. The recent centralisation of the medical card system within that body is an absolute and appalling mess and is an indication once again that big is not best and centralisation is not always good nor cheapest.

We need local government to remain local. We need it to respond to local people and to deliver services locally. However, it also needs to take decisions, but it is about taking decisions as closely as possible to the level of the citizen. The opposite of this is what is happening with this Bill and with what we understand the Minister is considering with regard to proposing the abolition of town councils. Local public representatives and their representative organisations, such as that AMAI and LAMA, have serious concerns about this. They believe the Minister is in the process of announcing the abolition of town councils in the near future. What we need is more local government, not less. We need more local services delivered, more responsibility for local people and more local democracy. This must be done by properly funding local authorities and by giving them additional powers, not by removing them.

The suggestion that there is too much local government and that we are over represented is flawed. The AMAI has issued a presentation which shows clearly that Ireland is not over represented by local government. A table in its presentation indicates that population per elected councillor is significantly higher in Ireland than in 15 EU member states. In Ireland, population per elected councillor is 2,815. The closest to this is the United Kingdom, with 2,664 per councillor and the figure goes down to that of France, with 118 per councillor. The principle of subsidiarity, whereby decisions should be taken at the closest possible level to the citizen is enshrined in the 1992 Maastricht treaty. This is embodied by an active, functioning local government. Ireland also signed up to the European Charter of Local Self-Government in 1997, which asserts the role of local government in a democratic process. The provision of a strong and meaningful democratic forum and delivery of effective services are at the heart of local government. However, local government needs to be properly funded and given additional powers if it is to fulfil these roles.

I am disappointed with the manner in which this Bill is being present and the guillotine that will be used on it. I cannot support the Bill in its current form.

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