Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Councillors are one of the most crucial elements of this democracy. They have in-depth knowledge of a particular local area, its community, infrastructure and vitality as a part of wider society. The work we do in this House is largely focused on national issues, while their focus is largely local. While that is the way it should be, many issues such as housing, health, the provision of local services, etc., are usually reflections of a State-wide context. The work we do is complemented and made transparent by the different Oireachtas tools with which we may be satisfied such as governmental, ministerial or departmental responses, all of which are open to public scrutiny through parliamentary questions, the transcripts of debates and live televised debates. That is the minimum standard for any democratic chamber that proclaims itself to be accessible to constituents. I welcome the moves made by Dublin City Council, in particular, which live streams and records its meetings for online consumption and the swathe of other local authorities that are investigating doing the same.

My party supports the Bill. Its objectives are clear and provide a more grassroots aspect to local government. When local election candidates put themselves forward, they present their proposals for how they would enhance their local community in terms of services, infrastructure and raising the standard of living. These proposals realistically cannot be implemented without a strong relationship between councillors and council staff as they work together, rather than having two autonomous bodies attempting to resolve the same issues. There are difficulties in that regard and the Bill works to resolve, rather than deepen, them. According to the supporting documentation provided by Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill, there has been preliminary consultation on the legislation with councillors. However, the Bill should proceed with full consultation with councillors and staff, with their representative groups. The same should apply to proposed guidelines for the Minister.

I commend local authority staff, many of whom work tirelessly with little or none of the praise or acclaim councillors receive. For example, many of them worked diligently to ensure many young people would be registered prior to yesterday's deadline to vote in the upcoming referendum. The objectives of the Bill, while necessary, could place greater demands on local authorities which need to be adequately resourced both with funding and staffing, particularly those that are stretched to their limits. The Department should undertake a wider scoping exercise of local authorities to see how they could improve transparency. Some local authorities stream their proceedings online. South Dublin County Council has rolled out a database for its councillors in order that they can track their representations made to staff.

Bearing in mind that the Government intends to hold a referendum on a directly elected mayor for Dublin - it is tentatively scheduled to take place in October this year - I urge the Minister of State to ensure the Bill will consider the mayoral apparatus in London and the role a new mayor of Dublin could have in ensuring the accountability of local authority staff. What progress has been made in holding the referendum?

My party will support the Bill and we are happy to lend our support to an excellent initiative that will enhance local democracy. It is evident from the responses received by Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill that this is, unfortunately, an issue throughout the State and that it needs to be addressed.