Results 1,861-1,880 of 9,994 for speaker:John Gormley

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: Because it would probably get it.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: First, I am not in any way being reined in. The fact is that in the context of the renewed programme for Government, if anything, my ideas are gaining momentum. The whole idea----

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: The whole idea behind regional government, which I know the Deputy disagrees with-----

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: The fact is that this is what we are going to implement in the context of the White Paper. It is very important, when talking about regional government, that one actually gets it right. There are contentious issues around borders - literally, where one draws the line - and we are going through this step by step. I can report that we had an excellent meeting yesterday and that I am getting...

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: I assure him of that.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: The Deputy then will be very happy with that. It is a powerful position, as well as being a job that is required. Having consulted widely, we are doing it. The Deputy referred to the four local authorities. Who came up with the idea of the four local authorities? It was Garret Fitzgerald and Fine Gael.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: I am dealing with a legacy of so-called local government reform from Fine Gael. It came up with those ideas and with the number of councillors, and I am trying to deal with that. It will take a while to evolve because allegiances and systems have developed which cannot be changed overnight. I am trying to integrate the position of mayor of Dublin into that. What we have come up with is a...

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: I did not say that.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: That is nonsense. Every point the Deputy has made is nonsensical. First, this is a very powerful position. If the Deputy has read the heads-----

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: -----he will see under head 38 that the mayor can intervene directly and has the power to direct - the mayor is the boss. This is modelled directly on the London mayoralty and I have taken many soundings from Mr. Ken Livingstone and others.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: In regard to the budget, again, because of his power to direct, the mayor can greatly influence the €1.3 billion annual budget. I do not see where the Deputy's difficulty lies. Of course, there is one issue on which we can perhaps have a debate, namely, local government funding. The Fine Gael party leader was asked a few weeks ago what his position was on water charges. He did not have a...

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: I wonder whether Fine Gael has had time to think about the issues since then. What is its position? I would like the Deputy to tell the people out there what is its position on a simple issue like that.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: All modern cities have water charges and domestic property taxes. This is taken as the norm. Yet, Fine Gael cannot even come up with a position on water charges. Why can it not do that? It is because it cannot take tough decisions on anything - that is the difficulty. Instead of waffling on, when the Deputy talks about the four local authorities, he should remember his party came up with...

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: The Deputy is.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: He asks how we are going to integrate the four local authorities. I am giving him the solution to that. It is an extensive piece of legislation, 200 pages long. If the Deputy studies its provisions, he will see the position is a powerful one. I reiterate that I have no doubt there are members of the Deputy's party who will be gagging for this position.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: I am happy to answer. I see that Fine Gael supports the property tax.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: The Deputy just asked-----

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: Now that the Deputy is banging the table, demanding it, I will give him an answer. He already knows that we have a domestic property tax on second homes. The Deputy pooh-poohed the idea and said it would not work.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: It has been very successful. I tried to consult the Deputy on the legislation. He said it would not work but it has been very successful. Those are the facts.

Local Government Reform. (25 Feb 2010)

John Gormley: I have just told the Deputy - I introduced one.