Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We need to have a real and comprehensive debate with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage about his vision for what local government will be. We are just over 100 weeks away from local elections and there are huge issues around what powers members of local authorities have. There has been an erosion of those powers over the last decade.

This evening I am going to a meeting in the GAA complex in Minane Bridge, where we will be discussing a road traffic issue. A section 38 application was made by the local authority. Some 98% of the public were against it but because of the way section 38 procedures work, the management executive has full control and is now proceeding with the works. The democratic process has been washed away by the executive function of the local authority. Every member of the community is against this one-way system but the management of Cork County Council wants it to happen.

Next Sunday at 3 p.m. I am going to a protest in Kinsale. Over 2,000 people have signed a petition regarding the relocation of Piper's caravan from the scenic area where it has been since 1932. It is an issue of huge concern for the people of Kinsale but again, the council management has made a decision and decided it is going to happen.

We have to have a real debate about what powers to give our local democracy and local councillors. In many ways, the executive is walking all over them. We have to blame ourselves because over the last two decades Ministers with responsibility for local government have continuously given powers to the executives of local authorities and undermined the functions of the members. Unless we change that, nobody is going to run for local government. Nobody is going to get involved in politics because there will not be any local governments but dictatorships by the executives. That is what we have at the moment. We need the Minister to come to this Chamber and give us his vision of how he believes the system can be changed. In two years, nobody will be putting their hand up to run for local government. What is the point of getting involved if they have no say and no powers and the executive controls everything?