Seanad debates
Wednesday, 5 March 2003
Local Government Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed).
In our own party structures we can put in place mechanisms to separate the two rules. I encourage parties to do this. I am not trying to place barriers in people's way, but I want to encourage and facilitate the change that is necessary. This change can be brought about by selecting people for different strands, namely, those seeking nominations, those seeking election to be legislators and those seeking to be local politicians. In doing that one can in some way counteract the fears that have been expressed by certain Members. Basically, one must make a career choice to be a local politician or a legislator and one's party will facilitate that. Should one wish to change direction one can do so by opting out of one stream and moving into the other.
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