Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join with all sides of the House in welcoming yesterday's agreement in Stormont and I welcome the increase of funding towards the development of the A5 which is a main arterial route running to and from the north west. This will prove a major boon for the economy for the north west and particularly for Donegal. However, I attended a meeting over the weekend of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly as did some of my colleagues and - in the context of a debate about the possibility of a Brexit - while I will not say there was hostility, issues were raised by the representatives from the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly about the amounts of money being given to the Northern Ireland Assembly and to Stormont.

One figure that stuck in my mind is that the Northern Ireland Assembly receives 23% more in block grants than the constituent bodies in Wales and Scotland. I will not say that there is not a great deal of sympathy for what is going on in the North but I echo one or two comments made in this House when I say I am glad that the parties in the North have seen a little bit of reality. Any suggestion, as has emanated from some sources in the North, that the British Government was going to continue to dole out the largesse in the North certainly came into stark relief yesterday in the discussions with the people who represent the Scottish people, and those who represent the Welsh people. They are not at all happy about the fact that they are not getting as much money as Northern Ireland is getting. I was glad there was an injection of reality and that this has happened because the parties in the North were very much on the precipice over the last couple of weeks.

I am very glad to see my colleague, Senator Ned O'Sullivan, back in the House after his recent illness and I hope that he will continue to make his valuable contributions here. I also welcome the indications that the Fianna Fáil manifesto will commit to the restoration of town councils.

To put this in context, in the past couple of weeks there was a memo from Sligo County Council relating to a tradition that had been built up by Sligo borough council, which gave small grants to resident associations in Sligo town and district. My colleague, Senator MacSharry, is familiar with this. As it was a constituent borough council, it had the budget to do this but because the council is gone and there is a now a municipal area that is much larger, geographically, there is not a budget to provide the funding for Sligo specifically, as it would have to provide the same money for resident associations all over the county. The resources are not there to do that. This is just a small example of how local democracy has been somewhat thwarted. I therefore strongly welcome what seems to be a commitment by Fianna Fáil - the manifesto has not yet been published - as the indications are that we will put forward a proposal to restore town councils based on population.

I remember at the time of abolition pointing out that Denmark has one of the purest forms of local democracy right down to town councils. It is example of the process working efficiently. Nevertheless, the last Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government decided in his wisdom that we would become less democratic in this country, which I found an ultimate irony. I second the amendment proposed by my colleague, Senator MacSharry.