Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I just caught the end of his speech but I appreciate his words. I support the Bill and commend Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill on bringing it forward. In recent years, there has been a significant shift in power away from our local councillors who are the people working on the ground day in, day out. This power has shifted into the hands of officials in the council. We need to shift this power back and this is a significant step in this regard.

Fine Gael in government abolished town councils, which was a retrograde step. It diminished local democracy. Massive local electoral areas were formed and this led to an extra workload for councillors. The Minister of State spoke of striking a balance in the workload of councillors, but if we want to attract people into public office and keep them there, we must offer more support. I am glad to hear there are some plans in that regard. We need a strong local democracy and this Bill is a significant step towards that. I look forward to seeing what the Minister of State has in store.