John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I thank the Acting Chair, and I thank all the Senators for their contributions this evening. It was a really useful exercise to hear from them. A total of 17 Senators contributed to the discussion this evening and that shows the interest this Chamber has in local government, as I have myself.

I will start by addressing elements of the questions raised by Senators around the urgency of establishing the task force, and determining its make-up and timing. A number of Senators raised that. Then I will do my best to go through some of the individual items that have been raised by councillors.

With regard to the membership of the task force, it is my intention that it will be made up of no more than 14 members. It will consist of a number of bodies and representative groups. It is important to say, with regard to councillors' input into that, that I met the AILG and LAMA and I assure them that the terms of reference I am bringing forward on this will reflect the membership make-up they requested, in terms of their own membership in the AILG and LAMA. There will also be representatives from the executive, the National Oversight and Audit Commission and the local government audit service, a member of my Department and independent experts. The chairperson will be announced following approval by Cabinet. I hope a memo will go before Cabinet next week in regard to this, and that we will have the task force up and running quickly thereafter.

I share Senators' concerns regarding this being an elongated process. That is why I will be proposing that it will be timebound so as to be able to bring forward recommendations that are implementable by me, as a number of Senators have referenced. That is important, as is the task force drawing on the reports that have already been commissioned from the Seanad consultation committee and the monitoring group report from the EU - I met that delegation yesterday in the Custom House along with members of AILG and the Irish delegation for the monitoring group - and the two reports already commissioned by the AILG. It is important to say, as I said in my opening remarks, that we are not starting from scratch with this. We are starting with a significant body of work that I hope the task force will be able to draw on, analysing all of the items across four pillars. I hope it will be able to bring recommendations forward to me within nine months.

I will move to some of the items raised by Senators with regard to councillors. I also want to put on record my thanks and appreciation to every person who is representing their local community on a council. They give of their time and they are essentially the first responders on the front line of local democracy. I know from a personal perspective that I certainly would not be able to perform my function as a TD for Waterford without the support of my eight Fine Gael councillors there. The work done by councillors of all parties and none, including Independents, is very important and it is important that we acknowledge them.

Senator PJ Murphy raised a number of items but he touched on the gratuity piece, as did a couple of other Senators. It is important to say that while it is not index-linked, it is related to the remuneration at the time the member will turn 50. That is an important clarification.

Senator Duffy raised items relating to planning, which I know he is very passionate about, and he gave a number of examples. I will continue to engage with him on it.

Senator Boyhan raised the issue of libraries and research, and I join him in complimenting them on the excellent work they carry out. It is important to say, with respect to the work the Seanad has done on this, that I see a role for engagement with Members of the Seanad by the task force. I do not want to go into too much detail because, obviously, those proposals will go to Government next week.

Senator Joe Conway raised issues regarding local authority members who may be subject to illness. It is important to advise that, with regard to a local authority member who is temporarily unable to fulfil their duties due to illness, the Local Government (Remuneration of Local Authority Members) Regulations 2021 provide that a member of a local authority may be absent for up to six months without any reduction to their remuneration payment, and that was a significant change that was made.

I hope Senator Fitzpatrick will agree that I am getting on with it, in terms of what I have outlined there with respect to the task force and its make-up.

Senators Collins and Andrews and a number of other Senators raised the matter of town councils. It is important that we acknowledge the former town councils were imperfect. There were 80 town councils that represented approximately 14% of the population. We now have 95 municipal districts that represent 100% of the population, with Cork, Dublin and Galway having their own area committees. That is something the task force will examine.

Senator Noonan touched on the EU unit within local authorities. There is a role for joined-up thinking between the assemblies with regard to maximising the drawdown of EU funding. There is a common theme in what Senator Cosgrove and others said regarding financial autonomy, and that will be examined as part of the task force.

As regards the remarks of Senators Lynch and O'Loughlin, I outlined the make-up of the committee. Senators Keogan and Kyne also referenced town councils and I hope I have addressed that issue for them. Senator Black is right in referencing the huge body of work that was done by the Seanad consultation committee. As I said, it will form a basis for that. With regard to the comments by both Senators Byrne, we need to ensure that we support the work of councillors. There is scope in the task force terms of reference to make recommendations in that respect.

Suffice it to say, a really important body of wort is going to be conducted over the next period. I am passionate about local government. However, I need recommendations to come forward that are practical, implementable and that will strengthen that relationship for local councillors to ensure the principle of subsidiarity is maintained and strengthened in our system of local democracy. It is also important to ensure councillors are engaged at the earliest point in decision-making regardless of whether it is a reserved function or an executive function and that councillors are empowered to be able to hold the Executive to account by getting data that they are able to utilise. I referenced that in my opening remarks.

I thank all the Members for their contributions. I wish the task force well with its work when it is approved by the Government, hopefully within the next week. I thank everybody in advance for their service on the committee because they have an extensive body of work to do.