Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No, the Commencement matter relates to local election boundaries. The local authorities need to ensure governance structures are put in place to allow Cork to move forward as appropriate. Thus far, all we have had is debate and internal arguments. In terms of the structure of Cork local government, we all accept there is need for change and that that change must be put in place sooner rather than later. As I said, this issue has been debated at length by almost everybody in the county, including public representatives, local and national representatives, the executives of both local authorities, academics and so on. This process needs to brought to a conclusion, with the necessary changes made sooner rather than later. The region is suffering because of a lack of local government structures and local government vision. We need to ensure these are in place going forward.

In the last 48 hours, one of the local authorities has threatened court proceedings against local government in Dublin. This is unique and unfortunate but it shows the urgency of dealing with this issue once and for all. The threat of legal action by local government against a Department is unheard of, in my opinion.I believe we need to have movement. The Minister needs to decide what he proposes to do and make that decision. I look forward to the Commencement debate on the other issue tomorrow.