John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On what was raised, I accept the arguments from most Members who have spoken. I would prefer if the Government made a decision more quickly, but sadly I do not decide when the Government takes particular decisions. My points at the start were essentially outlining the fact that the public information campaign for this will coincide with the referendum and with many other referenda that we have and that the public information campaign that the Government will lead through the three local authorities in question will have to be balanced as per the judgments in McKenna and McCrystal.

On what Deputy O'Sullivan asked, there is no question of it being put off. There will never be a perfect time to ask any question, but it is 20 years in June since I was first elected and the issue of directly elected mayors has been a near constant one over those 20 years. There have been different fora in the past that Deputy Ó Broin mentioned but the question has never been put to the public. What differentiates this from the usual referendum situation is that this is effectively a public consultation. There is a report that is produced and the people are asked their opinion on the question.

6 o’clock

Both Houses of the Oireachtas will decide within two years of the plebiscites what the legislation will be on pay and the full roll-out of functions. We are asking the public if it believes in the proposal of directly elected mayors and we are presenting what we think the role, pay and functions will be. It is up to the political organisations as well as individuals and Independents to fight a campaign as they would on any referendum, plebiscite or election issue. The public information campaign has to be balanced by its very nature. Deputy Cassells spoke with me on local radio debating pay. I have been on many local radio stations debating this issue and pay was raised in Limerick and Waterford. All the other questions have been raised, too. The question of pay was always going to be an issue that would be discussed. We need to be clear with the public. There is no definitive position on the question of pay. What is suggested in the Government's report is that these are options that might be considered. We have two years following the plebiscites to enact legislation to establish these roles. There is responsibility on each of us, if we believe in the objective of directly elected mayors, to campaign for it and to talk to the voters about what it is about.

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan talked about the document not being clear on existing councillors. The document is clear. There is no diminution whatsoever of the existing reserve functions of councillors. Councillors will retain all the functions they have now. The report by Sara Moorehead, SC, which is due in the middle of this year, will outline a number of other policy areas where we want to give powers to councillors. I often have rows with Deputy Mattie McGrath about different issues. I want to quote him correctly; he stated that this Government has "taken an axe" to local government powers. Not a single power has been removed from local authority members in the 18 months or however long it is that I-----

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