Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will move backwards. The Minister of State mentioned evolution and with amendment No. 7 we were attempting to signal the next steps needed in evolution. However, we have to be very honest about local authority powers because we have not been seeing evolution in the last number of years. What we have seen is an extraordinary roll backwards with respect to powers. We have seen it in planning Bill after planning Bill and we have seen it with different aspects of legislation. We have seen the erosion of powers again and again, beginning with the abolition of the town councils, which was a very unfortunate decision and a backward step. I agree we need to be looking at evolution but we are in a context where we have had many backward steps. I acknowledge bringing in a mayor is a forward step, but I am hoping we would send signals on the next forward step and that is what No. 7 was endeavouring to do.

I must come back to the Minister of State on No. 6. I accept his bona fides that his intention is to provide for both, but to be really clear, the Bill does not say that and the present Minister of State may not be the Minister of State in three years' time. Things should always be very clear in the legislation so whomsoever may be a Minister at that time has no capacity to ignore it. There may be a difficult and obstreperous council in future and we might have a Minister who says he or she would prefer to avoid it. I certainly am not seeking to exclude the officials and the directors general.Maybe the wording needs to be returned to on Report Stage but I would also urge the Minister of State to come back then with an amendment that clarifies the intention he stated that it will and shall include. Right now he is saying Limerick City and County Council obviously includes the elected representatives but that is not our experience. We have actually seen many, many cases where engagement with councils has effectively been engagement with officials and when it does not necessarily include the elected members. Part of that erosion of local democracy that we have seen is that the State talks to its employees at local level rather than speaking to the elected officials. For the peace of mind of both of us, and for clarity so that this is as good a piece of legislation as it can be and should be, it does need to be clarified. I am happy not to press this amendment if it may have the inadvertent effect of excluding the director general, that is not my intention, but I will be bringing it back on Report Stage and I urge the Minister of State to bring his own amendment, a very small clarifying amendment, to make it very clear, as the Minister of State has stated today, that there will be those three pillars, namely the mayor, the elected members and, indeed, such officials as are appropriate.