Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It now has nearly 6,000 people - perhaps more - on its payroll. Its functions seem to be diminishing due to the outsourcing of all sorts of engineering contracts, etc. Its stock of social housing has not expanded. The point I was making is that it is all very well to pay councillors more - and I do not begrudge councillors decent pay for the hard work they do - but the time has come to take a look at bodies such as Dublin City Council and ask whether that €1 billion is really justified. Is the local property tax really justified? Householders in Dublin are paying huge sums of money in local property tax. I have seen tiny cottages, both north and south of the Liffey, which have a road frontage of 10 ft or 12 ft and a depth of 20 ft being auctioned for €350,000 and €450,000. The occupants of those houses are paying far more in local property tax than people in large Georgian and Victorian homes 80 or 90 miles from Dublin.

We have to address the wider issue of local government and its powers. When I was Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I introduced local policing committees and tried to introduce a provision which would have given local authority members the right to determine closing times for nightclubs and so on in their areas. I also tried to bring in CCTV schemes to be operated by local authorities, as well as other proposals to increase the democratic accountability of local government. It seems that local government in Ireland is distrusted by central government to an extraordinary extent. Elected councillors in the United Kingdom are given a much greater say over planning decisions in their areas than is the case with our councillors. Perhaps there is good reason for that. Such powers may have been abused in the past. I do not know but I think Irish councillors should be trusted to do more work, especially if they are now being paid.

The time has come for a much broader review of local government. It is just a system of local administration with a smattering of democracy in the form of elected members. It could be radically different. I chose to use those words about Dublin City Council. I regard it as a body which now should be called to the bar of public opinion and asked to justify both the €1 billion it spends every year and the 6,000 people it employs. It should be asked to explain to the people of Dublin why they are paying such huge sums of money in local property tax.

Local property tax will be an issue in the next general election. I believe that very strongly. Anybody who thinks that will not be the case will be disappointed come the next election. We know that elections can happen when they are not expected and that people can suddenly be faced with situations which they did not expect and in which they have to confront the electorate. The time has surely come to reform local property tax, to admit it is unfair and to change it radically. There are many proposals. I have put some forward. The time has surely come to take a second look at local government.