Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Section 31 (b) of the Bill originally amended section 14 of the Local Government Act of 1946 to the effect that vacancy refunds in authorities where the 1946 Act applies would be reduced to 50%. I previously signalled during our last debate in this House that I intended to consider this matter further. Amendments Nos. 16 and 120 specifically provide that elected members in all local authorities can, as a reserved function, decide on an electoral district or districts within the administrative area of the county or city where a differing rate of refund may apply. Councils can decide on the appropriate refund, being any proportion downwards from 100%, that should apply in each individual area and the Minister may make regulations setting out the administrative and financial procedures to apply in relation to the taking of those decisions. The underlying objective of these provisions is to allow the elected members to respond to the realities of economic circumstances in their local areas. Amendment No. 147 amends Part 3 of Schedule 3 to provide for this new reserved function. Related amendments are also being made to the Local Government (Dublin) Act of 1930 and the Cork City Management Act of 1941 to provide for local discretion there. In both cases, the prevailing refund regime of 50% as provided for in the respective Acts, will remain but, as I have already explained, provision is now being made to allow local authorities to provide for a different proportion of refund in specific electoral districts within the authorities' administrative areas. It would, of course, be open to the elected members in Dublin and Cork to apply a 50% refund regime to all electoral districts in the relevant cities, thereby maintaining the present position if they wish to do so.

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