Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I join with Deputy Cowen in acknowledging the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and, in particular, the warm relationship between our country and the United States due largely, but including other factors, to his Presidency of that country. One of the highlights for anybody visiting this House is the flag which commemorates the people who died in the American Civil War.

I thank the Deputy for his Bill and welcome the opportunity to discuss his proposals for the revitalisation of town centres. Like other Deputies, I have a particular interest in this issue and I am familiar with many of the challenges, particularly those facing small and medium sized retailers operating in town and city centre locations. The Government has also recognised the importance of local economic development and town governance in its 2012 Action Programme for Effective Local Government - Putting People First.

Towns play a vital role in the life of communities around Ireland. We have all seen the effects of urban sprawl and poorly planned out-of-town retail development. Families all over Ireland are paying for those mistakes through more expensive infrastructure, longer journeys and congestion. Vibrant town centres contribute to social inclusion and create a common civic space where citizens can interact socially, culturally and economically.

Much of what is proposed in Deputy Cowen's Bill has been already done by Government. For example, new development contribution guidelines were introduced earlier this year requiring planning authorities to put in place reduced development contributions or waivers to support town centre development. The Deputy referred to the guidelines on retail planning. These are aimed at promoting and supporting the vitality and viability of city and town centres through the planning system. The guidelines set out the components of city-town centre strategies and recommend that they be prepared by the planning authorities in conjunction with stakeholders such as retailers, customers, chambers of commerce and community groups in parallel with the local area and county development plans.

Local authorities have been asked to exercise restraint or, where possible, to reduce commercial rates and local charges to assist local businesses in the current economic climate. The response to this request has been positive with, for example, 87 out of 88 rating authorities either reducing their annual rate or retaining it at the same level as in 2012. This follows similar trends in commercial local authority rate charges in 2010 and 2011.

I would now like to turn specifically to the proposals in Deputy Cowen's Bill. Many of the functions proposed by the Deputy for inclusion in town revitalisation plans do, I acknowledge, have merit but they do not requite the creation of new structures for implementation. The Local Government Bill 2013 provides for the establishment of municipal districts to empower councillors to consider many of these issues at a local level, including the development of local area plans. Elected members will be supported in this by administrative structures within the local authority at a county level in order to make the best use of resources.

Municipal districts will undertake a range of functions, mainly relating to local matters, including policy and regulatory functions in areas such as the aforementioned local area plans, parking by-laws and charges, as well as casual trading. The new districts will take actions to promote the interests of the community, including establishing a community fund. There will also be scope for significant citizen-community engagement and leadership, including consultation with local communities and consideration of community plans and initiatives. As can be seen, many of these functions overlap with those envisaged for the town teams proposed in Deputy Cowen's Bill and provide for consultation with local communities. The municipal districts will have significantly greater powers than the current area committees of county councils. Area committees are consultative or advisory arrangements. They do not have statutory or decision making powers: municipal districts will. The members at municipal district level will decide a range of important matters for the district. They will have full powers in this regard. They will generally decide matters without reference back to the county council, particularly through the development of local area plans for towns and their environs, subject to consistency with overall policy such as the development plan.

In relation to the specific functions proposed by the Deputy, I am aware that some local authorities have taken measures to encourage tie establishment of pop-up shops in vacant commercial sites. Appropriate parking charges are also a matter that can be best determined at a local level with appropriate by-laws. I would welcome appropriately designed parking charge regimes structured to encourage town centre retail activity while balancing the need to avoid traffic congestion and securing the local authorities' revenue base. Elected members are best placed to consider these matters in conjunction with their council executives.

The Government and I are fully supportive of the need for local authorities, within the context of their own economic and development planning processes and the action plan on jobs, to promote actively measures to stimulate and support local investment and associated job protection and creation.

The Local Government Bill 2013 makes provision for the establishment of strategic policy committees which will consider matters of economic development and matters connected to the promotion of, including support for, enterprise. They will also advise the local authority on these issues. In addition, local enterprise offices in each local authority will provide a one-stop-shop for small businesses, including micro-enterprise support. Relevant Departments and national agencies also have a role in ensuring the necessary legislative, policy and financial supports are available to local authorities in this regard.

I note that Barry Deputy Cowen envisages a role for An Garda Síochána on the proposed town teams to address issues such as anti-social behaviour. As Deputies will be aware, consultation on such issues takes place through joint policing committees and local policing fora. I take matters of anti-social behaviour and crime seriously, but I do not believe it would be appropriate to duplicate consultation structures which would unnecessarily take up the time of Garda management and other stakeholders.

We need to be mindful of the ever-present issue of the cost implications for the taxpayer of any new proposed public expenditure measures. Deputy Barry Cowen's Bill states "the expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas". It appears that there could be significant expense implications for the taxpayer, depending on the level of activity of the Deputy's proposed town teams. I appreciate that the Deputy may not agree with this view. However, as far as I am aware, he has not yet provided details of the cost of his proposals and there was nothing in his contribution this morning that dealt with the issue.

As the Deputy is aware, due to the serious deterioration in the management of the country's public finances in the past decade, the Government has had to take decisive steps to put our finances back on a sustainable level. One such step has been the ongoing consolidation and re-empowerment of local government structures to reinforce their role at the centre of strategic decision-making at local community level. At this time it would be at odds with our overall policy of consolidation to create an extra layer of administration at town level, particularly in putting it on a statutory footing. It would not be appropriate to place additional financial pressures on householders, through higher local property taxes, and business people, through commercial rates, to finance such structures when scare resources are needed to fund essential local services. That said, elected members will in the future have discretion to increase or decrease the local property tax rate by up to 15%. Therefore, it will be a matter for elected members to decide on financing priorities locally rather than having measures such as town teams imposed on them nationally by statute. The Deputy referred to a new system of rates, but, as far as I can see, that is not included in the Bill and I am addressing what is contained in it. Flexibility in the case of the local property tax will be a matter for the local elected members.

We will have municipal districts and they will have powers at local level to consult and engage with all local interests. I am determined that we will do all we can to ensure towns can function to their full potential in order that they can be centres of our social, cultural and economic life. However, I am satisfied that the municipal districts and other existing structures and guidelines already referred to can perform the functions proposed by the Deputy without the need for creating additional structures. I realise others will be contributing presently, but I note that everyone in the House has a strong concern for the difficulties many towns throughout the country are facing and we are all keen to ensure we revitalise them. However, measures have already been taken with development contributions, retail planning guidelines and the proposals for local government reform. I am satisfied that there is no need for another layer of responsibility as recommended in the Bill.

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