Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The facts of the matter remain that Fianna Fáil spent longer in government than us and they have had more opportunities to deal with this matter. I ask the Leader that in the new year when we have all had a chance to read and to reflect on the Thornhill report that he would arrange a debate on the future funding of local authorities. Members will be aware that the current provisions allow for individual local government areas to increase or decrease the charge by 50% over time in either direction. I ask for a genuine debate about the future of the funding of local authorities. Some of the Scandinavian countries are interesting because individuals vote for the areas of local authority expenditure. This is a debate we should have once we have passed along from the rhetoric of the budget.