Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This sets the context for my amendment. I thank Senators Craughwell and Keogan for supporting it.

The Minister of State will be well aware of the important role of local government and our councillors. We recently had a debate that was guillotined. I do not intend to go through all of it because it is on the record but the Minister of State, whom I am glad is in attendance, is fully committed to the importance of councillors, as am I. I never apologise for advocating strongly in the House for local authority members and, indeed, local authorities. I do so again today. That is why I have tabled this amendment.

I am seeking to delete the phrase "or a local authority". I have no difficulty with Oireachtas Members or MEPs not being included in the proposed maritime area regulatory authority, MARA, but I have a difficulty with councillors being excluded. Let us be clear, in that this is primary legislation, so any suggestion that the Minister might look at doing something in future will not wash with me. This Bill has been a long time coming and deliberately sets out to exclude local authorities. It reads: "a member of ... a local authority shall, while he or she is so entitled or such a member, be disqualified for membership of the Board (M) or a committee of the Board (M)." There is no ambiguity; the Bill excludes them. This was thought up by the draftspeople, the people in the Department and, indeed, the Minister. Ultimately, this legislation crossed the Minister's desk. What I am seeking to do is afford recognition.

Yesterday, the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, held a large meeting in Cavan. Afterwards, I spoke with its president, Mr. Nicholas Crossan, who lives in Buncrana and is an active person. County Donegal has a long shoreline. Indeed, there is a long shoreline all around this country. Mr. Crossan asked me whether I would contact the number of colleagues from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Green Party and Independents who attended the meeting, which I did. I singled out Wexford, Waterford, Louth, Galway, Clare and Cork. I spoke to councillors from those counties and teased out some of the issues. They are emphatic in their belief that they have a meaningful role. I agree with them. I was a director of the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company for ten years. I played an active role in it, as did all parties. There was cross-representation, with four or five of us representing all the political groups.

Through this amendment, I am seeking not just to talk about my commitment to city and county councillors but to include in this primary legislation the requirement that local authorities and local authority members be allowed to be part of MARA.The suggestion is that we would allow local authorities and local authority members to be part of the board of MARA. The exact same amendment was tabled by two Government Senators. It was good enough then, and I hope it is good enough today. However, that amendment was not resubmitted. When I say exact, it related to the support of councillors. To be fair to every Member on all sides of the House who spoke, they all spoke of the significance and importance of local authority members being involved. I do not think there is any dispute about our commitment to having councillors involved, but do we have the bottle to stand up today and support this amendment? I ask all Senators across the House to stand in solidarity with the city and county councillors who elect them, and from whom they seek a mandate, and to support them in this hour.