Camillus Glynn (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. What others discuss, this Minister does. This is a rare opportunity for Members of the Oireachtas to address, once and for all, the separation of local and national government. I have been involved in local politics for 24 years and heard ad nauseam about the need to establish local government in its own right.

As president of the AMAI, I headed an all-party committee which drew up a report on the reform of local government. One of the recommendations was recognition of local government in the Constitution. The objective was to give a realistic basis to the concept and existence of local government. That was done. Many on all sides of the political spectrum bemoan the fact that local government powers have been lost. Why are they lost? The reason is that when local elected representatives have powers, they do not have the bottle to use them. They take decisions about taking no decisions.

Responsibility comes with power. If people want power, they will need to have the power to raise money and the authority to spend it. That is power. In 1988, when I had the honour of being chairman of Westmeath County Council, it introduced a system of paid parking to bring much needed money into the coffers of the local authority, to implement certain traffic calming and regulatory measures and to turn over car parking spaces in the town. However, the minute the heat came on, people jumped ship. That is what has us in the current position.

This Bill is an opportunity. I appreciate that people on all sides of the political spectrum will be concerned about their positions as local authority members who hold the dual mandate. While I do not share that view, I respect those who hold it. Since the arrival of better local government, SPCs, area committees, county development committees, county development boards, strategic policy and so forth, membership of a county council and county borough council has become a full-time job. There was a clear recognition by the previous Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, that this had to be addressed in some fashion. Hence the introduction of the representational allowance.

I remember when the allowance was announced. The Minister said it was in recognition of the work of local representatives. It was most welcome and a ground breaking decision. The current Minister, Deputy Cullen, has indicated that in the future there will be full-time local authority members. It is axiomatic that it will happen. It is happening already and if people are working full time, they must be looked after in the established manner.