Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have raised this issue on a number of previous occasions. On some occasions when the Minister has talked about reform, it is actually a reduction in staff numbers and budgets. In fact, it can be costly. For example, if one has under-provided for local authority staffing and planning sections in some parts of the country where the building industry is starting to ramp up again, there will be inadequate oversight. It will only cause problems later on through an inability to call in bonds. Such matters are labour intensive and do have a benefit.

The Minister said there is a whole-of-government approach and I know that workforce planning is being done in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. There would be a big imbalance in staff ratios, however, because Meath has 620 staff while the combined Limerick local authorities' staff totals 1,075, yet there are 20,000 fewer people there. One cannot deliver some of the services that are planned without having people to do so. Those examples come to mind but there are many other sectors. In the health sector, for example, there is no point in having a consultant if there is not a porter to wheel a patient to the operating theatre.

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