Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to acknowledge the work of all local authority staff and thank them for their dedication and commitment to delivering public services in our communities. Local government reform is one of those topics that can often secure broad agreement across the Chamber, but I have some reservations about the Bill. Nevertheless, I welcome the fact the Minister has introduced the legislation which, I agree, represents a substantial overhaul of our local government system.

The Bill encompasses many facets and I will focus on a few specific areas. Properly functioning local government should represent the first comprehensive link between citizens and the State, but that has not been the citizens' experience since the inception of the State. I would argue that has been the case, in particular, since the abolition of rates in 1977 by the government of former Taoiseach Jack Lynch. That move is now understood to have been a policy mistake.

While I would quibble about the form in which the recently imposed property tax has been presented to the public, it represents the forging of a powerful link between the people and local government. Local taxes to fund local government services will only be accepted if they are seen as just. In addition, such scarce resources must be spent transparently.

I will not expand on my objections to the format of delivering the local property tax. However, I call on the Minister to examine how we can secure accountability. The Bill's provisions should ensure that every citizen will be given a clear annual statement on how their property tax is spent in that municipal area. When I canvass in my local community, many people say they are prepared to co-operate but they want to know where that property tax is being spent in their area.

Municipal councils must have an appropriate spending power so that councillors can work in close co-operation with executives, communities and citizens to determine how those resources are spent. Such expenditure can only be supported where it is transparent. When money is spent on behalf of citizens it is important for them to have an annual statement on how such an investment has been made.

One of the key points of grievance in my county - as I suspect the Minister is well aware - concerns the property charge on people who live in unfinished estates. The Minister has taken a special interest in that regard. Many people are rightly unhappy at having to pay a charge while living in such estates and waiting for a developer and the council to sort out legal issues, including outstanding bonds. I have been working with several residents' groups across east Galway in an effort to resolve this issue. We need to see far greater activity from central government encouraging our county managers to take up this issue. To the Galway county manager's credit, this process has been kept well in train to date. It is, however, essential for all local authorities to address this matter specifically.

Some previous speakers spoke about the customer's relationship with the local authority. There is a unique opportunity to underpin the property tax policy by giving a relationship to citizens allowing them to demand customer services from their local authority.

I will support the Bill and its proposed reforms. Large tranches of this legislation need to be introduced as soon as possible. Our citizens expect this type of reform. This is a unique opportunity and I welcome the fact that the Minister has brought these significant changes before the House in the form of this Bill.

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