Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move:

“That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges that:

- Ireland has a very weak system of local government in comparison to other European countries, according to a recent report carried out by the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRAE); Ireland’s system of local government is too limited and centralised;

- members of the Local Authorities Members Association (LAMA) have raised issues with the Seanad Public Consultation Committee about board memberships, reimbursements, and pension rights; many of these concerns came up during the Committee’s public hearings on the topic of The Future of Local Democracy;

- the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) has been to the fore in highlighting the increased level of threats, harassment and abuse of councillors and the increasingly hostile environment that members of local authorities find themselves in when carrying out their duties;

- the AILG has consulted intensively with its members regarding the Planning and Development Bill 2023, and has identified a number of key provisions in the Bill that need to be changed; the Bill copper-fastens the centralised approach to planning and does not take account of local circumstances as identified by elected members: the Bill will ensure that planning authorities are no longer the prime mover in terms of spatial planning in this country, but are now bound by a strict straight-jacket of plans at national and at regional levels;

- the AILG has expressed concern over the following:

- the limited share of public affairs under local authorities’ own responsibility, including limited resources, functions and finance;

- the imbalance between elected members and the Chief Executive in local authorities without a directly elected mayor;

- that members of regional assemblies are indirectly elected and are not accountable to the citizens for the decisions they take in the assembly;

notes that:

- in the last 12 to 19 months alone, direct actions by the Government that weaken local government and local democracy, including direct attacks on the powers of local councillors have included the:

- removal of section 183 Reserved Function for disposals of council-owned land to the Land Development Agency;

- removal of Part 8 Planning Reserved Function (until December 2024) for councils’ own housing developments;

- removal of councillors from governing authorities of universities under the Higher Education Authority Act 2022;

- councillors will be removed from their role on Joint Policing Committees once they are replaced by Safety Partnerships when the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023 completes all stages in the Seanad;

calls on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Government to:

- take into account the issues raised in relation to board memberships, reimbursements and pensions rights raised by LAMA and contributors to the public hearings of the Seanad Public Consultation Committee on the topic of The Future of Local Democracy; - ensure that the Planning and Development Bill 2023 has the democratic mandate of councillors before it is recognised in the new code of planning legislation;

- address the concerns raised by the AILG;

- undo the attacks on the powers of local councillors and ensure that members of local authorities will have equivalent power and representation on the new Safety Partnerships as they currently have on the Joint Policing Committees; and

- take on board the findings of the report carried out by CLRAE and devise a strategy to empower city and county councillors to grant them powers similar to those held by members of local government in other EU countries.”

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is very welcome to the House to discuss this motion, which deals with the very foundation of our democracy as representatives of the people in local government. All of us in this House have a deep understanding of just how foundational local government is in the running of this country. Not a week goes by that local government issues are not raised by a Member of the Seanad or a local issue is not communicated to us from one of our city and county councillors. They are the first point of contact for the millions of people of this country whom we represent and they are the first line of defence in solving so many of the problems that threaten the social and civic life of our towns and areas.

In spite of this, Ireland's local government has been subjected to continuous and systemic disempowerment across multiple national governments. The representative bodies have been fighting tooth and nail against this steady erosion of the ability of councillors to effect the real change they are mandated by their electorate to bring about.

While I, along with Senators Craughwell and Boyhan, feel that our short and concise motion speaks for itself, I will elaborate on the three main pillars of the problem: first, the dominance of central government over local government; second, the dominance of the executive over elected members; and third, the complete lack of structural consultation by the Government with the representative bodies of our councils.

We have seen significant results arising out of co-operative engagement between the Minister of State's Department, the Association of Irish Local Government and the Local Authority Members Association. Great progress has been made on the issue of the elected members gratuity scheme and pay and non-pay supports for councillors as a result of consultation and co-operation. Of course, further consultation on and examination of the situation on an ongoing basis will always be necessary.The granting of a security allowance to councillors was a wise step in the right direction. As the political realm becomes even more tumultuous, the physical safety of elected members and their families is more important than ever. While the grant is only half that of what national politicians receive, it is certainly a step in the right direction and a welcome and important move.

There are many more areas where serious work needs to be examined or where I think a change in approach or policy is necessary from the Government. One of the elephants in the room is the Planning and Development Bill. Many of its provisions amount to huge blows to the democratic mandate of councillors when it comes to the new code of planning legislation. The Bill's copper-fastening of the centralised approach to planning does not take account of local circumstances and needs, as identified by elected members. Local authorities as planning authorities are no longer the prime movers in terms of spatial planning in this country but are now bound by a rigid straitjacket of plans at national and regional levels. The AILG has raised the point that the draft Bill proposes to extend the duration of the development plan to ten years from the existing six. Such a long duration will open up a democratic deficit whereby all the elected members of the planning authority may not be able to make an input to the spatial planning of their locality. Furthermore, the pace of change in modern life, under the headlines of climate, economy and technology, is too dynamic to allow such a lengthy interval between development plans. It is quite clear that the power being given to the Minister to issue binding national planning statements and directives will have the effect of excessively centralising planning policy. It would be much more appropriate for the Minister to consult the representatives bodies of the elected members of planning authorities in advance of issuing binding national statements.

Councillors represent citizens and communities. The limiting of judicial reviews, in some circumstances to incorporated bodies, harms the current ethos, thus denying individuals and community groups the opportunity to exercise their concerns about a particular development through the courts. This power should be granted to councillors in order to allow them to best represent the views of their constituents. These are just some of the steps that could be taken to empower local government.

As the motion states, the last year and a half has shown the pattern of systemic disempowerment by the Government. I refer to the removal of the section 183 reserved function for disposal of county council-owned land to the Land Development Agency. I also refer to the removal of the Part 8 planning reserved function, until December 2024, for councils' own housing developments; the removal of councillors from governing authorities of universities under the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 and; the planned removal of councillors from their role on joint policing committees once they are replaced by safety partnerships when the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023 completes all Stages in the Seanad. As Independents, we have tabled motions to stop that.

There is zero consultation on the Government's guidelines on traffic work procedures, as set out in section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1994. This has had such far-reaching implications for the public and councillors. Could the Minister of State tell us what is the explanation for this? Why does the Government want so badly to hamstring its own county councillors? It seems like it is Government policy to steadily suck the power up through the ranks and consolidate it at the very top, in Cabinet, at the expense of all other elected representatives.

The request here today is very clear: we need communication and co-operation. We need a well balanced system of government that affords local government sufficient weight and appropriate powers and resources to carry out their duties in service of our democracy. The AILG and LAMA have been involved in round-table discussions with the Government. I have zero doubt that it would bring about huge benefits for everybody involved. I hope the Minister of State can accept this motion, which I commend to the House.