Seanad debates
Wednesday, 20 November 2002
European Communities (Amendment) Bill, 2002: Second Stage.
I have tabled a motion for the next Donegal County Council meeting seeking a pilot European Union office, a tangible office where people can come in off the street and get information on Europe. They could find out about their entitlements, what is happening and what will happen in Europe. That is the only way to instil confidence in the democratic process at European level. We have already done this at Donegal County Council level. We have opened two new decentralised offices, one in Millford and one in Carndonagh, where people can come in off the street, find out about the local authority, which was centralised in Lifford, and pay their car tax. If there was a European sub-office in one of the offices, it would help to instil confidence in the European process. This brings me to local government reform in general. This aspect could be tied in to local government reform if we are serious about the issue.
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