Results 24,121-24,140 of 28,162 for speaker:Catherine Murphy

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: Will they be better off?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: That is why it makes eminent sense to have direct elections to regional authorities. When the blocks are formed and there are only two positions, the two large blocks will form. This situation is replicated throughout a region. There is no diversity.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: I oppose this section as I did the section on transferring moneys from motor taxation and vehicle duties to the Minister for Finance. When people pay motor tax, they expect it to be used for the LGF, for which it has been ring-fenced for a considerable period, or for the upgrading of roads. The money is clearly being transferred for the purpose of repaying the national debt. Why do we not...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: Obviously a number of regional authorities will be amalgamated. Have the assets and liabilities being calculated or are they fairly small?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: In elections.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: I move amendment No. 106:In page 73, lines 19 to 34, to delete all words from and including “shall” in line 19 down to and including “subsection (2)).”,” in line 34 and substitute the following:“shall, prior to the preparation of the draft local authority budget, invite municipal district members for each municipal district in the council’s...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: Non-discretionary funding is the key issue. Most of the local authority funding will be spent on services such as wastewater, planning, housing departments, staff and pensions. The focus of attention will be on discretionary funding and that will be at the minor end. Local authorities - county councils in particular - are really quite legalistic in terms of looking at how that spend...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: I am unsure whether this is the right section. Will the Minister consider changing the reference to the suspension? This is section 103. Am I right?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: It is amendment No. 103.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: We can discuss the section.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: Will the Minister be examining that again?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: There were 26 town councils but they usually only had a person on half time. Therefore, the number of people that will be freed up may not be as large as the Minister thinks.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: Okay. I welcome the fact the Department is doing some workforce planning, because the fault-lines will be seen. There are areas that need attention, such as the planning system which is discredited due to large numbers of unauthorised developments. It is taking forever to deal with the estates that have not been taken in charge in a timely way. These areas must be part of the performance...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: The Minister said there would be more independent money. Perhaps I need to listen more carefully to what the Minister says.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: An ability to raise more money from people who do not have it.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: We are not in the Celtic tiger times now.

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: What section is the Minister deleting?

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: Obviously it is important there is a quality of service and the performance indicators are a good way of doing that. I have been looking at the issue from a practical point of view. The delivery of service requires people. There is a very unequal distribution of local government staffing. I realise that issue cannot be rectified overnight. For example, Meath, which is a rapidly growing...

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: The term "have regard to" is discredited, although I accept it is not in the same family of-----

Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Select Sub-Committee on the Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Bill 2013: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2013)

Catherine Murphy: I move amendment No. 76: In page 57, to delete lines 2 to 29 and substitute the following:“ “(1) (a) The elected council of each local authority shall form a committee, to be known as the corporate policy group and in this section referred to as the ‘policy group’. (b) The membership of the policy group shall be assigned proportionately according to the...