John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Surely the returns on these mergers will be felt by the community at large rather than just the State purse. There is nothing in the Bill that shows that the actual council as it performs - elected mayors, committees, pacts and budgets - will be reformed. Ideally, that is what the people who elect councillors wanted to see in this Bill. They wanted to see reforms in how councils perform.

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