Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following:the Bill be deemed to be read a Second Time on 30 June 2017 to allow for consideration of the Bill in the context of implementation of the commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government to consider directly elected mayors in cities as part of wider potential local government reform measures and consideration of the Local Government Reform (Amendment) (Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin) Bill 2016. The programme provides that, having consulted widely with all relevant stakeholders, the Minister will, by mid-2017, prepare a report on such measures for the Government and the Oireachtas.

We are again talking about mayors. I think I outlined last night why it was both appropriate and necessary, if Dublin was to fulfil its potential, to look at providing for an office that could play a co-ordinating and a much more focused and outward-looking leadership role for the city. I am happy to work towards this. I believe Deputy John Lahart and Green Party Members, as can be seen this evening, are also working towards it.

I am pleased to participate in the debate as it provides another opportunity to take forward our discussions on local government reform in the Dublin region. The debate last night was marked by a good spirit of co-operation on all sides of the House and I look forward to this continuing as we work through the important issues involved. As the House is aware, the discussions last night were on the separate Private Members' Bill from Fianna Fáil that also concerned having a directly elected mayor for Dublin. However, the provisions of the Fianna Fáil Bill and the Bill before the House take a very different approach. While last night we were discussing a process leading to a plebiscite and a decision, the Green Party Bill proposes the establishment of a mayoral office. I understand and appreciate the intention of the Bill which seeks to provide for improved co-ordination and leadership at local government level across the Dublin region by legislating for the formal establishment of a directly elected mayor with conferred functions across a range of policy areas.

The Bill also provides for the establishment of a Dublin regional authority, as well as a Dublin regional development board and a greater Dublin area transport council, to work with the directly elected mayor in administering the conferred functions. The Bill envisages the mayor, the regional authority and other bodies taking over specific responsibilities in the areas of land use, waste management, transport and housing services planning. The specific land use functions proposed in the Bill do not take into account the fact that, under Part 10 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, the task of preparing regional planning guidelines has been assigned to the new regional assemblies in the form of new regional spatial and economic strategies. In the case of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly, this covers a much larger geographical area than that envisaged in the Green Party Bill. Similarly, since 2013, waste management planning has been aligned with the larger eastern and midlands area and is a function of the executives, rather than elected members, of local authorities. The transfer of such powers to a Dublin mayor would be at variance with the approach taken in the rest of the country. I am not saying it is not workable, but we need to be cognisant of it.

On transport, the Bill emphasises the role of the proposed mayor and a proposed Dublin transport council in certain statutory functions of the National Transport Authority, but it lacks clarity as regards resolving the issue of how to address satisfactorily the accountability of the NTA in the wider greater Dublin area in the preparation and implementation of a transport strategy to cover the four administrative counties of Dublin and also the counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow which are all intertwined from a transport policy perspective, given the number of people who work in Dublin and live in these counties.

The Bill does not fully take into account reform measures introduced by the previous Government such as the replacement of eight regional authorities by three regional assemblies in 2014.

As regards structures and governance, it is not entirely clear how the mayor would relate to and work with the four Dublin local authorities.

All of these points reflect issues with the Bill, as it stands, and explain the difficulties we on this side of the House see with it at this point. They are not necessarily fatal to the Bill, but they mean that a lot of work needs to be done with its provisions before it could be considered a workable model for a directly elected mayor.

The Bill, in particular, needs to be considered in the context of the commitment in the programme for Government which provides for a necessary period of preparation and a consultation process before a report on local government reform measures such as directly elected mayors and devolution of powers is presented to the Houses for informed consideration by the middle of next year. A Programme for a Partnership Government sets out a number of commitments regarding what the programme terms "the next wave of local government reform". This involves a report to the Government and the Oireachtas by mid-2017 on potential measures to boost local government leadership and accountability and to ensure local government structures and responsibilities strengthen local democracy. The programme also references some specific issues to be considered, including directly elected mayors. My Department has commenced work on foot of the programme commitment, with the aim of building on the measures included in the Local Government Reform Act 2014. Decisions will be a matter for the Government and the Oireachtas, as appropriate, following consideration of the report.

Particular attention will be given by my Department in the coming months to measures to enhance leadership and accountability in local government, including directly elected mayors; action to widen and strengthen the role of local government, particularly through devolution of functions from central to local level; and measures to reinforce the effectiveness of the 2014 reforms to the local government system such as the new municipal district structures in the light of a recent operational review and consideration of issues around establishment of town councils. The aim should be to have a broad, inclusive consultation process that allows robust proposals to be brought before the Houses for consideration within the framework of the commitments set out in the programme for Government. In this context, the Government is open to considering all workable proposals that will contribute to the process. Key stakeholders from the business, retail and tourism sectors should also have the opportunity to provide input, as well as the general public. To proceed without such consultation increases the risk of legislative anomalies and unintended consequences.

While my initial reaction to the Green Party Bill was that we would have to oppose it on Second Stage for the reasons I have set out, in the light of the good spirit of co-operation on all sides of the House on the matter and also because we probably want a very similar outcome, I am happy to put forward an amendment to give a Second Reading to the Bill on 30 June 2017 to allow for its consideration in the context of implementation of the relevant commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government and consideration of the Fianna Fáil Bill to which we committed last night. From my perspective, we are serious about doing this. I am conscious that there are many challenges in my Department, including housing, water, planning and local government issues and so on. However, this is a real tangible issue on which we can make significant progress relatively quickly. It is really encouraging that other political parties clearly want to do the same. By the middle of next year, if not earlier, we will have practical solutions to some of the issues raised during the debate. I will do what I can, using the resources available in my Department to facilitate that process. I would like to work with others to try to get it right.

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