Michael McCarthy (Labour)

The spirit of my amendment is to ensure democratic accountability in the delivery of services by local authorities. The Minister of State and his team will be aware that the section I seek to amend will inspire fear. There has been a significant tightening of the public purse and we have seen a spate of public service cutbacks due to the fiscal situation. A section of this nature in a Bill like this leads us to think credibly that an element of privatisation for obvious financial reasons will lead to a lack of democratic accountability. When people elect their local government representatives they are not voting for a situation in which some services will be privatised.

The Local Government Act provided for the removal of Oireachtas Members from local authorities. Other legislative provisions introduced by the Minister of State's Department have facilitated the removal of decision-making powers to set charges for refuse collection from local authority members. The power rests exclusively with management now. The shift in executive functions is a retrograde step for local government which erodes the reputation of local authorities and demeans the role they play. The spirit of my amendment is to ensure that there is democratic accountability. It does not ask for much more.