Michael McCarthy (Labour)

The Minister more or less took issue with the former Minister for the Environment, Mr. Flynn. The councillor from Waterford was being gung-ho but that in itself is local democracy at work. The fact that people can take these stances in regard to decisions is what local democracy is all about. One of my biggest fears in regard to this section is that waste collection charges next year will be much higher than they are this year, and there is a significant increase this year on last year. Apart from the issue of waste, if one considers the revenue associated with it, we will be funding benchmarking and, therefore, more money will be required next year. Managers will be able to set whatever charge they like and council members will not be able to do anything about it. That is a retrograde step for local government. Any reasonable person, particularly those who have had dealings with local councillors, would agree with that statement.

My party and I oppose this legislation. I ask the Minister to reconsider the issue because it is pushing the role of councillors further down the agenda. Under this section, the role of councillors is being denigrated, which is not healthy for democracy. I appeal to the Minister to reconsider the provision.