Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I second the amendment proposed by Senator Bannon.

I believe the Minister is personally committed to local government reform and hope we get the chance to debate a substantial reform measure some time during his tenure. He does not pretend this deals with local government reform, rather it is a mechanism to bring an end to the dual mandate. I would like to see a more substantive package.

My comments on the dual mandate are in the record of the other House. For many years I have believed that if we want to take politics seriously and have strong local government, we must accept that one man or woman cannot properly do two jobs. The work of a local councillor is now a full-time job. I welcome the indication from the Minister that he is considering introducing a proper salary for local representatives. The sooner that happens the better but there is enough work to be done at local authority level to make it a five day week job.

There have been numerous debates on local government reform during my years in the Oireachtas in which we have heard the finest political platitudes. It is with regret that I say there has never been a meaningful attempt by any Government over the past 15 to 20 years to promote local government reform, the promotion of which would mean that the Oireachtas would have to transfer some of its power to locally elected representatives. When one examines the various committees which work in tandem with local authorities such as county and city enterprise boards, partnerships and area development groups etc., there is a huge amount of work that could be more effectively done at that level if a more hands-on approach was adopted by local councillors. This cannot be done at this time because it would be asking part-time politicians to do full-time jobs.

I would like to see a system of politics that would allow people to feel politically fulfilled by serving at local government level. If we are to be honest, most of those involved in local government aspire to serve in the national Parliament and see local government as a step on the career ladder – it should not be this way. Our system of local government should be strong enough that a career in it should be as laudable as it is in many European countries. The tough and painful political decisions must be taken centrally if we want to make this happen. We could talk until the cows come home about our electoral system but that is for another day. It is part of the problem that must be addressed if we are to have a form of national politics that will mean national debate and national decision-making.