Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the restoration of town councils, there is a huge disconnect between local government and national government. Only yesterday I received a response from the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to a parliamentary question about the areas where a county manager or chief executive officer could change reserved functions to executive functions. The reply was very clear that the county manager or CEO could not do that. This, however, is exactly what happened at a meeting in Clonmel last night when the county manager acted outside his powers in relation to St. Patrick's Cemetery. Some 5,000 people objected to and protested the restriction of access for sick, elderly and vulnerable people, many of whom are relatives of suicide victims. The managers seem to be doing what they like. The Government is calling councils out and blaming them for the housing crisis but there is a huge disconnect.

Will the Tánaiste ask the Minister, Deputy Murphy to investigate this and contact Tipperary County Council to ensure it acts within the legislation and that it does not strip away totally the powers of the elected members? The council executive has many powers as it is, but in this instance it is overstepping the mark and ignoring the legislation, which only yesterday was issued to me by way of a reply to a parliamentary question.

See this speech in context