Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)

Many Deputies, who were local authority members, as I was for a number of years, will remember that at one stage the county manager, the county engineer and the county secretary were the senior management and the same applied in the cities. They basically ran the local authority area. We then had "Better Local Government - A Programme for Change" which introduced a whole new tier of directors of services. The Minister has a report on the possible amalgamation of Waterford County Council and Waterford City Council. I have an open mind on this given that in the current economic climate we need to deliver services with the best possible value for taxpayers' money. That reform agenda must protect the services and give the public and their representatives in the area every opportunity to give their views as they always have done. The administration of these systems should be reformed and become more efficient in delivering the services.

I understand that more comprehensive legislation on local government reform is to be introduced. There will also be reform of boundaries of Dáil constituencies. Deputy Healy will agree with me on this matter. Many areas in north County Waterford for which Waterford County Council is responsible are in the Dáil constituency of Tipperary South. It causes confusion and people feel they are not being looked after properly. We need better administration of our local government structures in such cases. I welcome the Bill in general. We need to reform and become more efficient for the betterment of our citizens and country.

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