Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their contributions. I value the sincerity with which many speakers have raised these issues. I assure the House that once the legislation is published and is brought to the House I will look very carefully at any amendments or changes Members wish to propose. I will be as open as possible in that regard.

We are operating within a situation of financial restrictions. Members of this House should not be immune to this fact and I cannot be immune to it as a member of the Government. It is a very difficult situation. This is not the reason for the meaningful reform programme we propose. People who read the document in its entirety will have found answers to many of the questions raised by Senators today. It is evident that not everyone who spoke has read the document. I suggest it should be read in full to understand the types of function we are seeking to introduce and to devolve as much as possible to local level. Many contributors want structures but not power or responsibility. They cannot have it every way. My starting point is to decide what are the types of service that can be delivered by local government. The principal position is set out in the document. If a service can be delivered as close as possible to the citizen, the vehicle by which that service can be delivered is local government. The structures and services are already in situ, as is the provision of opportunities. Therefore, this is the first matter to consider in the delivery of any new or existing service which is currently being delivered by a State agency. This gives us all an opportunity to see how agreement can be achieved between Departments, agencies and all of us. For example, once this reform goes through, councillors will have to adopt all programmes and service delivery across the range of local authority services; they will have to adopt all service level agreements between national bodies and local bodies; and they will have to adopt all economic strategies and community strategies, something they are unable to do at the moment. The difficult aspect is that they will have to avail of revenue-raising opportunities in order to ensure that the priorities they have outlined in their strategies and budgets can be delivered.

My late father was a councillor from 1955 to 1982. Up to his untimely death, as a councillor he had more power to deliver local services in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s than I had as a councillor subsequent to 1982. That is my background with regard to local government. I say to the people in this House who have a close relationship with councillors that I will not be found wanting with regard to devolution of responsibility from national to local. Revenue-raising opportunities or powers to implement those programmes at local level are what we should be aiming for in legislation. We cannot have it every way. It was a great mistake to centralise local government over the years, as mentioned by Senator Walsh. The final nail in the coffin was in 1977 when rates were abolished across the board. That really removed and centralised into national agencies and bodies any opportunities for people to deliver their priorities at local level. I want to change that. I say in a very open way to Members of the House that I will be delighted to hear their views about amendments they may wish to table.

I remind Senator Ó Domhnaill that we can have our little scraps about local level. He had a good run in his contribution today, but it also contained a lot of misinformation about reductions in services. If people in Donegal or anywhere else pay for their local services, more services will be delivered. However, if people do not pay for them the budgets will not be met.

Therefore, the local management must decide to cut their cloth to suit its measure. If people advocate not paying then they should not expect the same level of service. It is a responsibility - and I am not saying that personally to the Senator - but we must all take responsibility. If one wants a service then one must pay for it so the funds can come from central government or local government. The more discretion one has, the more opportunities there will be to raise revenue at local level.

I would say to Senators Ó Clochartaigh and Cullinane from the Sinn Féin Party that I have examined the Northern Ireland situation which adopted a position of responsibility. Revenue raising opportunities have been provided for local people and it is called a property tax. I have examined that property tax as a possible model for this State in the future. In the North Sinn Féin places a charge of ¤1,000 on an average household for a particular range of services.