Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Seanad. I suppose I should be reluctant to speak about activities in the Minister of State's back yard. The primary provision of this Bill is the abolition of the regeneration quango. I understand that is the term now being used. I am sure the Minister of State will have a robust response to the criticisms of the decision that has been taken. The bad news that comes out of Limerick is not merited. All of us are appalled that two thuggish families have besmirched the name of a very old and respected city. I commend the various forces of the State that have been doing everything they can to ensure the people of Limerick can sleep soundly in their beds. I refer particularly to the Garda, the local authorities and local representatives in general. I include the Minister of State in that.

I am not sure whether the abolition of the Limerick Northside Regeneration Agency and the Limerick Southside Regeneration Agency will address the challenges that are being faced by the people of Limerick and by the statutory agencies in that city. The outgoing chief executive of the agencies, Mr. Brendan Kenny, highlighted the depth of the challenge that remains in tackling the problems in Limerick when he said that despite over €100 million being spent on the project, some families are worse off compared to when the regeneration process began. His comments have received widespread media attention in recent weeks. I am sure the Minister of State will reiterate that Mr. Kenny has had many achievements since the board first came into being, including the demolition of 900 houses and the rehousing of 300 families in other parts of Limerick city.

The Minister of State has announced that some 100 new homes will be built this year. It is clear that major work remains to be done to achieve the objectives set out in the Fitzgerald report, which led to the establishment of the Limerick regeneration areas. As I recall it, we all welcomed this initiative as an integrated, cohesive and co-ordinated approach to the many social problems that have developed in Limerick over recent decades. I am sure the Minister of State will take this opportunity to set out exactly what the Government plans to do when all the powers of the outgoing authorities are given to the revamped Limerick City Council. I suggest there continues to be a need for a coherent approach to advancing the regeneration of the blighted areas of the city. That might be put on the back burner when the agencies that were established to tackle social problems in these areas are abolished as a cost-cutting measure. I would be interested to hear the Minister of State speak about the priorities she would like the new Limerick City Council to adopt when it takes on board what the original agencies were tasked with doing. Given that all local authorities have wide problems, is she satisfied and confident that this new authority will address the priorities that were outlined in the Fitzgerald report and implemented to date by the Limerick Northside Regeneration Agency and the Limerick Southside Regeneration Agency?

I will bemoan the loss of An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, which was established in 1947. It survived successive Administrations because it did valuable work. Having represented the Library Association of Ireland in this House for many years, I am aware that An Chomhairle Leabharlanna is the Cinderella of our semi-State agencies. When the annual estimates were considered at local authority level in previous years, the book fund was often the first thing to be cut. Over recent years, a more mature approach to the importance of our public libraries has been taken at local authority level. Great credit is due to all of those who work in such libraries. They have managed to get away from the stereotype of the old Carnegie approach, which was solely about lending books. They have adapted to the new technological age by providing essential services, such as free Internet access, particularly to the unemployed and those seeking employment who need to access technology. A wide range of services is being provided in our library system. I ask the Minister of State to reiterate the Government's commitment to ensuring our libraries will continue to comprise a central and essential building block in the recovery of this country. Some of us might have taken them for granted over the years. As a result of the sad increase in unemployment, an increasing number of people are having to reskill and upskill. The libraries in our towns and villages have proven to be an enormously important resource. I hope the abolition of An Chomhairle Leabharlanna will not diminish that role in any way.

It is interesting that this legislation will change a system of local government that has been in place since 1899, when the first Local Government Act established Tipperary North Riding and Tipperary South Riding. Those Anglified names are not particularly used now. They give an indication of the background to this Bill. I often wondered why Tipperary was split in two. In England, Yorkshire was similarly split into north and south ridings. I thank the same thing happened in some other parts of the English local government scene. We need to consider what will happen next. I know the Minister of State is not responsible for answering that question at this time. It is a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, who has already indicated in this House that he plans to establish a local authority review commission as soon as the revised Dáil constituencies have been agreed. Perhaps the Minister of State can tell the Seanad the date that has been set for the publication of the recommendations of the Constituency Commission on the redrawing of Dáil constituencies. The timing of that announcement will have an impact on the date of establishment of the new commission, which will consider the redrawing of local authority boundaries. The Minister has already committed himself to publishing the results of the commission's findings by January of next year, which would be 18 months in advance of the next local government elections.

This Bill proposes to reconfigure Limerick City Council and to merge North Tipperary County Council and South Tipperary County Council. I am curious to know why it was decided to do this in a piecemeal fashion. What is the purpose of including this proposal in this legislation at this time? Why is it so urgent? The Minister, Deputy Hogan, has promised that the Government will develop a much wider reform initiative. Many councillors around the country are not sure of their futures, but it has nothing to do with the electorate. They are more focused on the Minister's plans. I would like clarification on the proposed or rumoured reduction in the number of councillors in each local authority, the proposed or rumoured abolition of town councils and the rumoured abolition of borough councils such as those in Kilkenny and Sligo. There are no sub-authorities in my own county. It is a single local authority area. It has been suggested that it will suffer as well as a consequence of its low population. I know the Minister of State will not be in a position to answer all of these questions. I am sure it is like the budget in the sense that even if she could provide these details, she would not do so. I am raising it because I suggest it is germane to the proposal to reconfigure two local authorities.

I welcome the overall thrust of this legislation, which is to reduce the number of quangos. I have been informed that "quango" is an acronym for "quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisation". As many of these agencies are State-registered and State-funded, it might not be exactly correct to refer to them as quangos.

However, the suggestion that by doing so it will have a major impact on the economy raises that question. I would remind the Minister of State that the programme for Government stated: "The Government will make substantial cuts to the number of State bodies and companies." I suppose we must concede that at least a start has been made in this regard.

I note that Irish Water Safety is to be abolished under the proposed scheme. In her speech, the Minister of State said it would be re-established but perhaps she will clarify exactly what she means. If it is being re-established, why is it being abolished in the first instance? I commend the officers of Irish Water Safety for their outstanding work at local swimming pools around the country, including in my own town of Drumshanbo. Since the pool opened in the mid-1970s, at least a generation has learned about water safety under the expert guidance of representatives of Irish Water Safety. I hope the body's future will be strengthened rather than diminished in any way. Once again I wish to thank the Minister of State.