Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 14 relates to the assignment of staff to the office of mayor. I note that Deputies Bacik and Leddin have tabled similar amendments, Nos. 12 and 15. The appointment of staff to the office of mayor was the subject of much debate on Second Stage and Committee Stage. The Bill, as published, provides that the director general will appoint the office staff in line with their responsibility for staffing matters. That is what was put to the people at the plebiscite. I am conscious that there are large numbers of staff working in the local authority who provide a huge variety of skill sets. In my short time in the role of Minister of State, I could not have functioned without the skill sets of the existing staff in the Department of housing, and in particular the Department of local government. It is a collaborative approach.

I have carefully considered the views expressed by Members. I believe it is critically important to have a well-functioning mayoral office from the outset. I am now providing that the mayor will be consulted on the appointment of office staff. The way this will work in practical terms is that the staff will come from within the local authority. We must have a situation where there is cohesion and there are people with experience of how the local authority functions. Ultimately, no staff will be appointed without the mayor being consulted and being comfortable with the staff in question. If you ask any Minister or Minister of State, that is the situation. We have to have a working model as well. I am confident this will not unduly impinge upon the director general's staffing functions, which will remain unchanged. This amendment places a consultation which is likely to take place on a statutory footing. It will happen anyway, but we have now put it on a statutory footing. The staff in the mayor's office will be put in place after consultation. In practical terms, I expect that a call will go into the local authority in the normal way, and the mayor will interview the staff, along with either the director general or the head of human resources. You want a combination of skill sets.

Amendment No. 13, in the name of Deputy Quinlivan, proposes that the mayor will have sole responsibility for staffing the mayoral office without the involvement of the director general. As I noted on Committee Stage, a fundamental tenet of the legislation - more particularly, this is what was put to the people by way of democratic plebiscite, this is what they voted on, this is the Government's policy proposal and this was recommended by the independent advisory group report - is that the director general will have responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the local authority, and specifically for staffing matters. I am also conscious of the existing staff in the local authority, as I expect are all other Members of the House.

Amendment No. 97, in the name of Deputy Leddin, who is along with Deputy Quinlivan my colleague from Limerick, seeks to amend section 154 of the 2001 Act dealing with delegated functions in a local authority.

This amendment would require the director general, when delegating functions to staff within the council, to consult the mayor to ensure each delegated function is adequately staffed in order to further the objectives of the mayoral programme. As has been well discussed, the management and delegation of staff and resources in the council is a function of the director general, as put to the people by way of plebiscite. We need to respect the proposal for which they voted. While I have acknowledged in my amendment No. 14 the unique circumstances regarding the assignment of staff, the other amendments in the group are not in keeping with what the people voted for and are not appropriate at this time. On that basis, I am not minded to accept them.

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