Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome that this legislation is before us. I applaud the decision of the people of Limerick in 2019 to vote to have a directly elected mayor. It is auspicious. It is surprising that Limerick is the first place in Ireland to introduce the new system, given the independent, progressive, politically innovative spirit of the city that was seen in the past with, for example, the Limerick Soviet of 1919 trying to do something quite different. It is very welcome and necessary, because what we have seen and know is that there has been a strong loss of confidence in local decision-making.

We have seen a roll-back in people's connection to that crucial thing that is part of being a state, which is that they have a say and a voice in the decisions we make about how we live together. When I talk about politics to anybody, whether children or people in industry, I talk about how politics is the decisions we make about how we want to live together. One of the first examples that people should have of that is that their vote and voice at local level helps to decide how we live together in our towns and cities. It is crucial, yet we have seen that it has been increasingly undemocratic for a long time. We have seen a slide towards Executive decision-making that is quite distant from that sense of the public having a voice, a say and shaping a common vision together. The model we currently have does little to foster community empowerment or strengthen local democracy.

I have concerns about some aspects of the Bill. I will table amendments on Committee Stage to try to ensure that this legislation delivers for the people of Limerick a mayor who really has the necessary powers and tools to deliver a city that reflects them and their collective vision. At the moment, Ireland is failing. It was a poor decision to abolish town councils back in the day. In so much of the legislation that has come through these Houses, we have seen one, two or three little clauses in the middle of Bills where yet another small power, point of voice or point where the councillors would have a say is removed. The fact that we have seen so many people quitting local government is worrying and reflects the frustration that those who put themselves forward in that public spirit, wanting to serve their communities, find when they come up against that wall where none of the decisions and powers seem to sit with them.

It is not just our opinion; it is also the opinion internationally. Last October, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe unanimously adopted a report that found Ireland to be compliant in only eight out of the 20 core principles in the European Charter of Local Self-Government. That is less than a failing grade. It is less than 50% of the core principles that we should achieve. It is an indictment that we are only compliant with eight out of 20. Some of the findings of that report are important in the context of this discussion. The report found that Irish local authorities had limited democratic decision-making powers. It highlighted the imbalance in power between elected councillors and chief executives in local authorities and the consequent democratic deficit. An issue that others have spoken about and highlighted, which is the lack of financial autonomy, was also identified as a key obstacle to effective local self-government. The report highlighted that local authorities in Ireland do not manage a substantial share of public affairs under their own responsibility. It concluded that Ireland is far from compliant with that principle of subsidiarity, which requires that decisions should be taken at the closest point possible to the citizen.

The reason I am highlighting these points is that our approach needs to be comprehensive. We have a lack of ambition in strengthening and transforming local government and giving it the powers and resources, as well as powers to access resources, to deliver sustainable communities. I want to highlight one area where I think local government will be crucial, which is sustainable cities.The sustainable development goals, particularly goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities, requires under target 11.3 that the signatories enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanisation and the capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries by 2030. Of course, Ireland is not just a signatory but is the chair of the negotiations on the sustainable development goals. We have seen how when local authorities in cities across the world have been empowered, very often they have led the way. I recall going to the climate talks at the point when the US had briefly pulled out of the Paris Agreement. The fact that we are still in was the movement of cities across the US, which still attended Conference of the Parties, COP, were able to talk about what they would do in terms of advancing sustainability and had the powers to do so. That was a really important example of the leadership that properly empowered cities and towns can have.

I am concerned that in this legislation, we are seeing some of the same mistakes being made that have been made in the past. They have led to disempowered local government and, more worryingly, a disaffected public, something that is bad for politics and society. The outsize role of the director general is one area. The director general does seem to be the chief executive by another name. He or she will still hold the vast majority of decision-making power. We heard about the many items in the seven-and-a-half-page Schedule. It is not clear to me what the mechanism for moving items out of that Schedule is. Perhaps as the role expands, we should have a very clear and simple mechanism that does not require primary legislation that would allow for areas currently within the Schedule to move into the power and compass of the mayor. Even if that is an incremental piece, that is something that would not require new primary legislation where we go back and say, "We failed on Limerick. We will try again on Cork" or wherever it might be. We do not want to be in that position. Regarding the huge reserve of power, it is not simply that somebody would come out and apologises to the public for the thing it wanted to happen not happening with a director sitting behind the scenes who actually gets to make the decision about whether it happens.

The restriction on the mayor hiring his or her own staff is regressive and a constraint because people are advancing their careers within a particular spectrum and there is a danger of the permanent Civil Service being the actual thing rather than persons who can actually deliver within what will be a necessarily limited timeframe of the mayoral period. I am concerned about the powers concerning housing, development and planning still remaining with the unelected official. I am also concerned about the mayor's proposed membership of the elected council and his or her ability to move motions and votes. I ask the Minister of State to outline the rationale for this. In jurisdictions with a directly elected chief executive, it is customary for the chief executive to be required to attend meetings of the council and have the right to attend and speak. Could the Minister of State clarify that? I have lots of examples but I will skip them. The council should be a power to hold the mayor accountable and set policy. We should be enhancing the role of councillors in a complementary to that of the mayor.

Will the Government transfer powers or competencies from central government to the Limerick local authority, including revenue-raising powers and responsibility for delivering public services? The Minister of State will be aware that the debate on re-municipalisation of waste services is a very current one. I thank him. We have the opportunity to take a real leap forward and I hope this will be seized and there will not be yet another misstep in local democracy.