Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Okay, it is based on two constituencies but just the same, it seems like a lot of money to put into an election of this sort. It does beg the question of whether a person who can raise more money is in a better position to be potentially elected than somebody who cannot. That again speaks to the ability of people to do this job. I wonder as well how the division of labour, if you want to call it that, within the local authority is really going to work. On the one hand, we have somebody who is essentially describing the strategic ambition they have come up with and on the other hand, we go to another officer who potentially may not buy into that at all but whose job is to execute it. I fail to see how that will work in terms of management structure in theory. I know from my own time on a council that there would often be very different aspirations between the council body and the executive body. There is work to be done in this regard.

As I said, I am in the enviable position, as we in Waterford are, that we can sit back now and let Limerick, which voted for this, implement it. Cork did not vote for it by the way, as the Minister of State is well aware. I have heard other Deputies describe how Dublin should have this, and maybe Dublin should have it. However, I am quite happy with the position we have at the moment. What we need to do is stop devolving powers from our councillors. That is just as important. The councillors are getting less and less power. I know people around the country ask about the function of councillors. They do not actually spend enough time talking to them, however. Certainly, the councillors who I know in Waterford are extremely busy and extremely diligent in their tasks. That is an area that needs to be looked at. As I said, I am happy to let Limerick off with this one and see where we get to. It will be interesting to see the amendments and if it is successful, I will certainly in the future promote the idea.

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