Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is mian liom aontú leis an méid atá ráite faoin sár-iománaí, Jimmy Doyle, atá imithe ar shlí na fírinne. Mar is eol don Teach ar fad, sheas sé an fód go minic ar son Chontae Thiobraid Árainn agus chothaigh sé bród ionainn mar dhaoine ó Thiobrad Árainn freisin agus mar Ghaeil. Níl aon amhras faoi ná gur spreag sé ionspioráid ionainn go minic. Bhí tionchar faoi leith aige ar dhaoine óga. Ní gá ach bualadh le daoine atá óg go leor agus bíonn siad ag caint faoi daoine cosúil le Jimmy Doyle, Tony Reddin agus John Doyle agus na daoine sin ar fad. Bhí an t-ádh linn sa chontae go raibh duine cosúil le Jimmy Doyle againn. Níl aon amhras faoi: ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

The comments by Senator Ó Domhnaill about town councils are particularly timely. It is never too late to correct a mistake and I believe the abolition of town councils was an error. It definitely eroded local democracy and undermined the identity of local communities. It also totally ignored the history and tradition attached to many of those councils. My own town of Cashel obtained its charter from King William, which was not yesterday, so that gives an indication of the history and tradition to which we are referring.

I hope the review will be open, focused and guided. We should engage in particular with local communities and those who have sat on councils in the past. I sat on Cashel Town Council for 18 years and I could always see how close we were to the people. I can remember that on estimates night, one would come outside Cashel city hall and people would be there to meet councillors and discuss what rate had been struck.

We have argued about this in other instances concerning the decentralisation of power and giving it back to the people. However, the opposite has happened in this case. While it cannot be laid at anyone's doorstep, one of the greatest mistakes was not to grant proper powers to councils when we had an opportunity to do so. I know one thing for certain. History will remember us kindly if we have the courage to undo what has been done and restore those town councils to their rightful place once again.