Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the German ambassador to the House. Many of my friends go to St. Killian's, the magnificent German international school and education campus on Roebuck Road in Clonskeagh. It is funded substantially by the German Government. It is a wonderful educational campus. Many Irish citizens, who are also European citizens of course, choose to go to this amazing school. I wish the ambassador and the campus continued success.

Councillors from all over the country are gathering for the annual general meeting of the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, today. I acknowledge and thank the outgoing president, the Donegal councillor Cllr Nicholas Crossan and Cllr Nick Killian, the vice president, from County Meath, who will stand down today. There will be a change of officers today but I want to acknowledge the importance of the day, of their work and the importance of the AILG and the Local Authority Members Association, LAMA, in engaging with us. A substantial number of us are elected by members of local authorities; they are our constituents. I never apologise for raising issues relating to city and county councils in this Chamber. We are, after all, elected by them. It is important. I call for a debate in the future on the issue of devolved powers. We have more powers relating to local government centralised than any other EU member state and it is important that we address that. As strong advocates of local government across the House, the reform of local government is an issue on which we need to focus more. We previously discussed the funding of local government. Local government needs to stand on its own feet but to do that it needs sufficient resources and finance. Many Commencement Matters an other issues raised in this, the Upper House, usually relate to local government and local issues. Often the parliamentary questions tabled in the Dáil are the same. We need somehow to empower and strengthen local government and local democracy. I ask for a focus on these themes over a period, particularly on greater powers for our city and county councillors and how we can empower local government and devolve more powers from central government to local government.