Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill.

As someone who was elected to the House by city and county councillors, I support any reform of local government that benefits the citizens whom councillors represent and that promotes the development of their cities and counties. On Cork city and county councils, this is long-awaited legislation which will give legal effect to the raft of detailed provisions governing land, asset and staff transfers, the operation of by-laws and financial compensation package arrangements. This is the end of a long road for city and county councillors and while there has been a lack of agreement on many issues, there has also been consensus. As someone who represents independent councillors from both city and county, my main concern is the need for certainty of funding for a decade and beyond. I would like the Minister of State's reassurance that there will be the long-term funding plan for Cork, that is, not a three-year plan as originally proposed.I regret the Bill was rushed through the Dáil and is now being rushed through the Seanad in two days. I am grateful to my colleague, Senator Boyhan, who persuaded those who manage the schedule to hold Committee and Remaining Stages tomorrow and not have All Stages of the Bill taken today, as originally planned by the Government. Haste has been a feature of the Bill and I am disappointed the Minister did not see fit to place the Bill in a pre-legislative scrutiny process, particularly in respect of Galway City Council and Galway County Council.

This Bill lacks coherence, attempting as it does to do too much at the same time. This is not for the benefit of the people of Galway. It is borne out of political expedience with the local elections in 2019 in mind. This is no way in which to enact legislation. The Government is promoting a central Government agenda at the expense of local authorities and their citizens. As a person who subscribes to the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality, which is enshrined in the Lisbon treaty - I have been fully involved in the Timmermans discussion in Europe - I fully support the right of local authorities to retain their independence from central Government. I believe this Bill flies in the face of this principle. In this Bill, subsidiarity has been denuded of its moral foundations in a fashion that has failed to provide the grounding for achieving social and economic progress. In the specific case of Galway, it runs the risk of creating a physical crisis with the inevitable negative effects on service delivery by attempting to do too much in one Bill. This Bill does not strengthen local democracy, it runs a grave risk of completely undermining it. Indeed, 54 of the 57 councillors divided between Galway City Council and Galway County Council are opposed to this Bill.

The Minister of State will be aware of the historic underfunding of Galway County Council due to the unfair base calculation made almost 20 years ago and on which the subsequent funding calculations were made. It is widely known that Galway County Council is completely underfunded compared to comparative local authorities. Even though Galway County Council area has a larger population, it gets between €18 million and €30 million less than other large authorities, in spite of extending as far out as the islands with the infrastructural and development implications of that unique geographical space. This funding deficit has not been properly addressed by successive Governments and it is no wonder that Galway councillors are up in arms at this first Bill targeted at Galway. It is not about improving services or increasing funding. It seeks to put in place a single chief executive, who is only serving in an acting up post for both the city council and county council. From the human perspective, the fact that this chief executive would be employed in an acting capacity creates even greater uncertainty as many senior positions in Galway's local authorities are already acting posts.

From my discussions with Galway county councillors, I know they would like the funding issue to be addressed and asked that the model for the distribution of the local property tax and other sources of funding be examined as a matter of priority. They would also like to be included in the consultations on the proposals, which Deputy Ó Cuív described in the Dáil last week as amalgamation by stealth. I agree with him.

In addition, I think the findings of the so-called expert group, which had not a single elected member on it, are given too much weight and the views of those who are at the coalface of local democracy have been ignored. Whether the amalgamation of the two local authorities is of benefit to the city and county of Galway is not for discussion today. Overall amalgamations have been a success story but only because of the extensive research, consultation and detailed stakeholder engagement that took place. It was in all cases driven by the councillors themselves and the success of Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford owes much to this.

I have tabled a number of Committee Stage amendments to this Bill, but my main amendment deals with the removal of references to the Galway local authorities from this Bill as I believe their inclusion requires a more considered approach.

This is rushed legislation. What we need is proper and extensive consultation with councillors. I find it extraordinary that in the same Bill, we have examples of the successful result of the full and thorough consultation and extensive debate and compromise that occurred in Cork side by side with a hasty and incomplete arrangements for Galway. This is not good enough for the people of one of the most vibrant and economically successful counties and cities in Ireland.

I do not wish to delay this Bill for the citizens of Cork and I sincerely hope that my amendments will be accepted tomorrow and that references to Galway City Council and Galway County Council will be removed from the legislation as it passes through this House and can be addressed as a stand alone piece of legislation next year.

I compliment the Minister on what he is trying to do. I do not want to impede the progress of the Bill but I promise that I will move heaven and earth to ensure the amendments I have tabled in regard to Galway City Council and Galway County Council will be passed in the House. Other than that, I wish the Minister well with the provisions for Cork in the Bill.