James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the House and I thank the Clerk for clarifying the amendments for me. Like any successful scheme, this business improvement districts scheme cannot operate without adequate funding. Public representatives have brought to my attention the inadequate funding of local government for specific projects, etc. Many local authorities are forced to take a piecemeal approach. For example, a local authority may start to construct a new footpath and might only have sufficient funding for half the street. The remainder of the street is left in a mess for two, three or four months until further funding is allocated by the Department. If an authority has a shortfall when carrying out a specific development, the Department should have some process to allow the authority to draw down funds rather than leaving it in a dangerous state that is potentially liable to insurance claims, etc.

There is no co-ordinated approach by bodies such as the ESB, Eircom, the service sections of local authorities and other bodies that might need to carry out work underground. These bodies should have a more orderly approach to work in the vicinity of footpaths in towns. The Minister should take the lead and advise local authorities in this regard.

Local authorities urgently need greater democratic accountability at local level. Many authorities are cash starved and many powers are still vested in national Government. I would like a transfer of powers from national Government back to the local authorities. More funding is needed for tidy towns committees.