Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The trend of limiting councils' powers and imposing unelected bureaucratic management began during the emergency period of the Civil War and led to decades of neglect or hostility towards local government from successive governments. We have to face that. We have seen the centralisation of power at the national level, the abolition of parish and town councils and reductions in the number of local elected representatives. In 2014, 80 town councils were abolished, reducing the number of elected representatives by almost 700. This significant change to the structure of local government was able to happen without a referendum because there is no explicit protection for local government in the Irish Constitution. The decision was criticised by the Council of Europe in its 2013 report on Irish local democracy. The Council of Europe report also found that Irish central government did not properly engage in consistent substantive consultation with local government about issues of regional development.

The second trend that contributes to the high degree of centralisation found in the Irish State is the cuts made to local government funding during periods of economic difficulty to reduce spending. As a result of these processes, Ireland's local government sector is small and underfunded compared with those of our EU counterparts. A 2019 trade union study found that Irish local government accounts for 8.4% of total government spending and that we have one elected official for every 148,517 people, compared to 33.1% of government spending and 43,152 people per elected representative in the Netherlands. The EU average is 23.1%. Ireland's councils are less electorally representative and economically empowered than their European counterparts. This has to change.

Councils have also been hindered by the significant reduction in staffing created by Government budget cuts. Staff levels fell by 24% between 2008 and 2013 and have never adequately recovered. In addition, the moratorium on public service recruitment and the retirement of experienced staff contributed to a reduced skill pool and hindered operations. There have been reports in the Dublin Inquirerabout Dublin City Council's trouble in hiring staff and the negative impact this is having on the cleanliness of the city. There needs to be more funding and recruitment support to ensure local authorities have the manpower to deliver essential public services.

Local authorities have had their responsibilities reduced over time with some functions lost to privatisation, such as waste collection, and others moved to the national level, such as water management. Combined with the loss of the administration of driving licences and student grants, this reduces people's contact with local authorities and weakens their confidence in local government's ability to play a positive social role in their lives and communities. This is reflected in the declining rate of voter turnout in local elections. Local councillors work very hard to deliver for their communities. They are often people's first port of call when struggling with the substantial flaws in our housing, social welfare and immigration systems. Councillors play the role of social workers, legal advocates and trusted confidants with minimal support and insufficient powers. It takes a heavy toll. I know many talented and committed people who have resigned because it all became just too much for them. I have great admiration for the people serving their communities day in and day out. They really need our support to achieve effective local government reform, which would empower them to do the job their communities elected them to do.

In the small amount of time I have left, I will lend my support to the Dublin city councillors' request for legislation that would allow them to remunicipalise waste collection. It is a very important campaign for better public services and empowered local authorities. We know the work councillors do. They do phenomenal work. I know them myself, as do we all. We all meet them every day. I do not know how they keep their energy going. They do not get the support they need. It is absolutely vital that this changes and that we give them what they are demanding.