Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister's presence in the Chamber. Local government reform is something I feel very strongly about, having served on a council for almost 12 years. It was always a matter of great frustration that so much power was in the hands of unelected people. There are some positives in this Bill. There are some things that could be improved on but it is really important that we put local government at the centre of political reform. To the greatest extent possible, local decisions should be made locally and, therefore, local politicians need power to effect these changes. For that reason, I supported the introduction of the local property tax because giving local authorities their own funding is one way to give them power.

It is really important that we get 80% of property tax delivered locally as soon as possible. I would like this to happen at the beginning of this coming year because this is what people expect. I broadly agree with the earlier remarks of Deputy Olivia Mitchell about the property tax issue because as it is currently constituted, it definitely weighs far more heavily on people in Dublin than elsewhere. If there is spare money available, it would be useful if we could use some of that money in Dublin to, for example, pay for waste collection. That would help to mitigate the blow to people's pockets and would also bring local government closer to people's front doors, which is where it should always be.

The Minister is probably the biggest man in the Dáil but he should be very careful with his officials in the Department. There are several major enemies of local government in this country and one of them is the Department itself because if would be handier for it if as many decisions as possible were made centrally. The Minister should never allow them to get him in a headlock. I know he would be the hardest person to get in a headlock but they would beat him in terms of numbers if not size and strength. I ask the Minister to consider making it statutory that any face-to-face interaction between councils and the Department include elected members and not just unelected officials.

I was always very conscious of the fact that many major decisions for local authorities in the Dublin area were made with no elected people present. I urge the Minister to consider that point. The mayor or chairperson of a council is an obvious person to have at such meetings, but it would not necessarily have to be just that person.

The second big enemy of good local government is the county managerial system. The Bill goes some way towards downgrading it and I am aware from conversations with the Minister that he is very keen to transfer more power to the elected members, but changing the name to "chief executive" alone does not change much. I see some advance in the Minister's proposals in terms of them having to provide additional advice to members. In theory, councillors have been asked to approve new appointees, but in practice they have had little or no say. I hope that as a result of these changes elected representatives will have a greater say on who should be chosen. It is worth considering having elected members included on interview boards for major posts in councils. I also believe the Minister should have a veto power where political favouritism is shown. Senior staff in county councils are presentingfaits accomplito councillors, especially in the case of Part 8 proposals. Councillors, through committees, should have a say in what is being proposed, obviously with professional advice being given by staff.

The third enemy of good local government is councillors who do not wish to exercise authority but simply wish to use the council chamber as a place to bellyache rather than make decisions. Many councillors would step up to the plate if given real power. Given that there is such disillusion with politics at present and that so many politicians start their careers in the local electoral system, if people saw councillors exercising real authority I believe more good candidates would be likely to present themselves for election and people would be more likely to approach them about local issues rather than their local Deputies. This is an important issue at present because there is some evidence to suggest that, across the parties, it is harder to get good candidates to run in council elections. As it is the main route towards national politics, it is really important that we have the best people going forward for election to local authorities.

Having made those criticisms, I wish to acknowledge and applaud the very positive and productive work being done by great numbers of local officials, managers and elected councillors. I can give an example of where I have seen this. In my local council, the combined effort of the council and a forward-looking manager succeeded in setting up a very effective business park which has encouraged some major industries into the Dublin area. That could not have been done without foresight because it required having a long-term view and ensuring there was sufficient energy and water available. At their best, councils can behave in that way and it is important to acknowledge that. There are many jobs in south Dublin, particularly in Grange Castle Business Park, because of good foresight on the part of councils and an active county manager.

Part of the reform of local government must include alignment between local authorities and other areas of local service to the community. For example, policing districts should, as a rule, not straddle local authority boundaries. The same should be true of education and training board areas. If we ever return to the health boards system, they should similarly be aligned with county boundaries.

The issue of town councils versus municipal districts is mainly one for people outside the Dublin area. There is an argument for scrapping town councils, but we ought to tread carefully. Many towns and cities, and the Minister's native city of Kilkenny is a good example, have a very venerable history and have long established institutions. I understand what the Minister is moving towards in that regard and I broadly welcome it, but in the case of Kilkenny, for example, the map shows that the proposal for the Kilkenny city area would divide it into two different electoral areas. It would be better if the local election wards were coterminous with the city as it would be easier for the people representing that area to do so effectively, rather than having them straddle two areas. I would also like to know what type of powers municipal districts will have. Presumably they will be augmented in some way with what area committees currently do, but they depend entirely on decisions being made centrally. I look forward to the Minister's comments on that issue.

With regard to local community development committees, the change towards business support units is welcome. However, we must ensure they make a positive contribution towards the development of jobs. As I indicated with regard to my local council, councils can have a major impact, particularly if they are in economic powerhouse counties such as Dublin or Cork. In the case of more remote areas, there is still a role for councils. Obviously they must think in terms of different scales but in the area of tourism, for example, they could do a great deal to promote their county and help to develop that industry. That is one example but they can do that in other areas as well.

We must examine the issue of commercial rates, for two reasons. The first is that they are so important for the functioning of local authorities. In my local council, for example, at least 50% of the funding comes from commercial rates. They are extremely important. I realise this will not always be the case as the extent of commercial development will vary in counties. The second reason is that infrequent valuations can lead to a situation where rates levels can be inappropriate due to either an economic downturn or an upturn. This might be covered in the valuation legislation that is proposed, but it is important that valuations are carried out on a reasonably frequent basis. If we are moving towards a self-assessment process, as appears to be the case, that is good from the point of view that people can re-assess their situation quite frequently. If that happens, however, it is important to have checks. There must be an inspectorate to check 10% or so of the decisions on a fairly regular basis. Deputy Deasy has spoken about this, but there is also a strong case for phasing in the changes so that whether the commercial rate is being increased or decreased, it is done in stages rather than in a single big jump. I understand the Minister is open to an amendment in that area.

With regard to regional assemblies, I served on the Southern and Eastern Regional Assembly in Waterford at one time. I love Waterford as a city but the value of going there was more for my liking of the area than for what happened at the assembly.

The assemblies should either be scrapped or given real powers, as I discovered that the council had got its hands on a bit of money to pay for what I had gone there to achieve. I am glad it got the money, but I had nothing to do in the delegation.

The issue of a directly elected mayor for the Dublin area has been a hot potato. I am interested in the plebiscite idea but, having considered the issue, I do not agree with the suggestion of a directly elected mayor. Some of my party colleagues disagree with me. It is worth having a mayor for the greater Dublin area who is elected by councillors from the four Dublin authorities, albeit for possibly longer than one year, as that period does not allow much time. There is a case for a person to be elected for the full five-year term. I fear that, if a mayor was directly elected by the people, a celebrity candidate without much knowledge or understanding of how local government works might get elected, leading to quite a bit of conflict between the mayor and the elected councillors. I am glad that there will be a vote on the issue in order that the public might at least be able to make a decision. A long-term mayor for the greater Dublin area is a worthwhile suggestion, but the conflict between elected councillors and mayors would be an issue. Deputies may have read the contribution to a newspaper approximately two weeks ago by a directly elected Labour Party mayor in the Manchester area. He drew attention to this issue. We must tread carefully, although it would be useful to have a figure of power for several years in the greater Dublin area. In one sense, I am arguing for someone to be elected in the same way as the Taoiseach. He was elected from his constituency of Mayo, but it was the Members of this Chamber who elected him as Taoiseach, not the population in general.

We must strengthen local democracy. The Bill contains important measures that move in that direction, but a great deal more work is to be done. It is difficult to do everything in one go.

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