Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to contribute on this Bill. When the structures of local government were established in the closing years of the 19th century, few would have envisaged the change that would be wrought in the next century. The Bill establishes a local government model that is fit for purpose in 21st century Ireland. Large leaps forward in terms of travel and transport, communications and community must be reflected in local government structures. This Bill tackles the changes necessary in territorial structures and in the institutions of local government.

Good government is lean government. The Bill seeks to create a much leaner and more streamlined system. Creating a much leaner local government structure cannot be done without causing a significant measure of difficulty for those enmeshed in the current structure, but this legislation will reap financial rewards in the years to come in terms of a reduced cost to local government and an increased focus on where local government spend is most needed.

However, I would sound a note of caution about the difference between streamlining the system, which I welcome, and reducing representation, about which I would have concerns. A substantial part of the savings arising from the Bill come from the abolition of urban district councils and town councils but it must be remembered that they have provided a valuable local voice across the country for many years. They have initiated many valuable measures and provided a voice for urban residents that simply would not have been heard otherwise. The fact that these urban councils provided a forum for the voicing of local grievances was also reflected in the remit of county councils and the issues raised therein, which were often of a more regional nature.

Prior to the boom years of the Celtic tiger, urban and town councils were operated on a shoestring budget. It was the increased running costs amassed during the boom years that eventually led to their downfall, as the cost could no longer be justified in the current economic climate. Cuts needed to be made to every conceivable area of expenditure, including to the cost of politicians at local and national level. However, had the very low pre-boom costs been maintained, a much better case would have been made for the retention of such councils. The same applies to county councils and the reduction in the number of councillors resulting from this Bill from 1,627 to 949, which reflects the abolition of the urban and town council regimes.

The Bill contains other welcome provisions, including the bringing together under one umbrella of both Tipperary county councils. Undoubtedly, this will save on the expense of duplicated offices such as human resources.

The change in the role of the county manager will hopefully result in a reduction of the tension that has bedevilled many county councils across the country for many years in terms of clashes between the unelected executives and the elected local representatives. I also welcome the introduction of the national oversight and audit commission, which is a commonsensical measure aimed at ensuring that money is spent wisely, but I hope that the bureaucratic burden placed on county councils will not be too great, as it would otherwise be counter-productive.

By improving the equality of representation throughout the country, the Bill will play an important part in creating a more effective and representative local government. However, there is no point in having a vibrant and robust local government system if power is not devolved to local level.

Much work remains to be done in devolving power to local level in Ireland. We have much to learn from our counterparts in continental Europe in this respect. On that point, I would like to take up something that Deputy Coffey mentioned concerning rates. We must do an awful lot more on rates from the perspective of small businesses. As a county councillor, for too long I saw businesses going to the wall due to the rates issue. The current valuation system does not work. When one hears that a town may be evaluated again, it is almost a poisoned chalice because rates may rise or fall. It does not take into account the business one is doing. Given that we are trying to get more businesses into smaller towns, and these will always be small or medium-sized enterprises, we must take into account the level of business they are doing and their turnover rather than the size of the building they are using. That is an unfair and archaic system which needs to be re-examined.

This Bill is an important step towards putting structures in place which will allow us to plan towards devolving further powers to local government in the years to come. This will result in a streamlined service which will be suitable for the delivery of the necessary services in 21st century Ireland.

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