Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's acknowledgement of the issues relating to Drogheda and its environs. The fact is that Drogheda was turned down by the independent commission but that commission was absolutely wrong. Drogheda had a borough council from 1169 until its abolition in recent times. We need to get that council back and to have local control. Local debates would previously have taken place at borough council meetings, attended by local authority management and the public but that has all gone. There is no local debate now. Indeed, there is no local council, full stop and that is where the reforms were absolutely wrong.

The Government should restore a council to the town of Drogheda and its environs, with real power and real accountability. Longford has a population of approximately 40,000. It has a county manager and all of the infrastructure necessary for a county council but it has a smaller population than the town of Drogheda. Leitrim has a population of only 30,000 and yet it has the infrastructure that Drogheda so badly needs. Huge decisions must be made here. There is enough work in Drogheda and its environs to keep a full-time manager busy, 24/7 and that is what the people want.

The Minister has said that he is looking at a number of issues relating to other cities and towns. He called Kilkenny a city but it only has a population of about 25,000. There are 15,000 more people living in the town of Drogheda than in Kilkenny. While I appreciate it does not have its own city council, Kilkenny derives a certain amount of status from being called a city. We need to acknowledge the importance and worth of Drogheda, which is the biggest town in Ireland after Waterford. It needs a professional political base which it does not currently have. I urge the Minister to publish his report at the earliest opportunity and look forward to engaging with him on it.

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