Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This section sets out how many members each municipal council will have. Having gone through the Bill, the only changes I see are name changes. This is a superficial approach to improving local government. As I mentioned earlier, the number of county councillors in my own area will increase from 21 to 34. I suggest there is an optimum number of councillors that makes a council effective. For that reason, the numbers set out in this Bill for the vast majority of councils are probably too large. As a consequence, the effectiveness of local government will be nullified. There are other reasons for that. The approach we are taking is disparate and centralised. Senator Cullinane is absolutely correct when he compares the position here with that in other countries.

The Irish system of local government is probably the most centralised in the OECD. It is controlled from the centre, which is probably the reason it lacks cost-effectiveness, efficiency and accountability.

I fully concur with the Minister on out-of-town shopping centres and developments. While he is correct in that regard, the responsibility for this trend lies not with local authority members but officials who were probably working to guidelines issued by the Department. We must recognise where the deficiencies and failures in the system lie. Given his long involvement in local government, I am surprised at the Minister's approach. He has worked with some good county managers in County Kilkenny and will have observed the modus operandiof local government. For this reason, I expected him to show greater empathy in terms of what needs to be done. Unfortunately, what we see here and in all changes to local government and many other areas is the retention of as much power as possible by the centre, in particular the bureaucracy. This is regrettable because the Bill presented an opportunity to build on the work done in 2001, which did not deliver the anticipated outcome and has threatened the democratic functions and empowerment of local authorities. Once the principle of subsidiarity has been abrogated, as has been done in a dramatic fashion in this Bill, it is difficult to put in place an effective system.

I recall discussion on proposals to abolish town councils and replace them with area or district councils and abolish county councils and have area councils report to regional councils or authorities. The Bill appears to move by stealth in that direction. If that is the route being taken, let us have a debate on it but we should be informed. Have discussions taken place in that regard? Is this Bill a step towards local government becoming regional, with district areas reporting to a regional authority? Such an approach would avoid some of the duplication that occurs.