Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for explaining the necessity of this Bill. Fine Gael recognises that necessity and has no difficulty with the legislation. I would like to speak about the agencies and boards covered in this legislation. When I was a councillor between 1999 and 2007, I was not fully aware of the functions of the Local Government Management Services Board, for example. I thank the Minister of State for furnishing Senators with an explanatory document. I now understand the need for the board which interacts with management at local authority level. When I first became a councillor in 1999, the board employed 19 staff at an annual cost to the Exchequer of €1.9 million. By the time I resigned as a councillor in 2007, the board employed 30 staff at a cost of €9.5 million. Can the Minister of State explain this large increase in costs? Is there a real need for such an increase? Perhaps the Minister of State will examine this matter.

I am sure the Local Government Computer Services Board plays a necessary role at local authority level. In 1999, the board employed 93 staff at an annual cost to the Exchequer of €5.8 million, but by 2007 it employed 96 staff at a cost of €15 million. The cost of running these boards has increased significantly. Would it be possible to evaluate the performance of each of the many boards that serve local authorities in the context of the forthcoming Green Paper on local government reform? Some of the boards could be amalgamated to streamline their operations, cut their costs and deliver better efficiency in the running of our local authorities. We need to maximise the return on the expenditure of public funds.

One of the boards I mentioned is responsible for overseeing public service indicators at local government level. I accept that systems need to be in place to measure the delivery by local authorities of services to our citizens. As local authorities operate at the front line, they deal day in, day out with issues of concern to citizens. In my role as a member of a local authority corporate policy group, I have seen the results of studies of public service indicators. I question some of the figures which emerge from such studies because they seem too perfect to be true. I ask the Minister of State to examine this matter. Given that we do not live in a perfect world, as we all know, I do not accept the 100% returns on some of the indicators. Having been a councillor for eight years and had discussions with councillors throughout the country, I believe we have a long way to go before we attain the figures which have been delivered under some of the performance indicators. Perhaps the Minister of State agrees that the reality is nowhere near what is suggested in such figures. We need to consider this matter. Almost every councillor from all parties will agree with my views in this regard. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State were to take this point on board.

Fine Gael has doubts about the future role of the Dublin Transportation Office, which is also mentioned in the Bill, because it is toothless. The proposed new powerful Dublin transport authority needs to be established quickly in the interests of transport planning and delivery in the greater Dublin area. The Dublin Transportation Office would then be made redundant because we do not want overlap, duplication and the waste of public funds. We need to take a more stringent approach to such matters.

It is important for Senators to acknowledge the work of the Limerick regeneration agencies which have made a positive contribution to the regeneration of troubled areas. Fine Gael supports the work of the agencies which can serve as useful models when problems arise in other local authority areas. As I said at the outset, Fine Gael does not have a difficulty with this Bill. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, will pass my views on the issues which need to be addressed to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.