DATE: 8^th May 2003
TOPIC: Local Government (Amendment) Bill

Mr. Cuffe: We applaud the principle of this Bill and will vote for it.  Nonetheless, we are concerned - such concerns have been put on the record before - at the dropping of directly-elected mayors.  We believe such a move would be a great step forward for towns and cities around the country.  That idea has been dropped despite great pronouncements over the years that it would happen.  We need look no further than the example of London where a directly-elected mayor is providing vision and leadership and is showing the way forward.  The Minister is taking a retrograde step.

Many years ago, Barrington said that the function of national Government should be foreign affairs and defence and that local government should deal with many of the other issues on a local basis.  That, I believe, is a point well made.  I have ten years experience in local government.  It is unfortunate that the Minister, given the Government majority, is not taking the opportunity to really devolve power to local level.  It is a missed opportunity and I am saddened by it.  However, I welcome the Bill.

On the information issue, it is important that local authorities are responsive.  I have encountered the same problems as Deputy McCormack with the county council of being unable to obtain a draft county development plan without paying for it.  The cost in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown region is €200.  As a Member of this House, I should be allowed to have access to all documents and draft documents being brought before a council.  The draft development plan is one of the most important documents in the Dublin area in particular, given the various tribunals under way.  It is my duty to comment on such a plan because it examines the vision for the county.  It is an area into which, as a national legislator, I should have some input.  It is similar to a freedom of information issue.  Members should be privy to documentation and be able to obtain it without paying a significant financial penalty.

The dropping of the directly elected mayors proposal is a huge retrograde step.  From travelling and living abroad, I have seen what a strong local mayor can do in the larger cities and the smaller towns around Europe and the US.  Electing good people as mayors who can lead a five-year programme as opposed to the 12-month changeover in place here, where a chain is simply shifted from one person's neck to another, is a hugely dynamic and interesting area of city and town management.  Our system does not represent management, vision or leadership.  The Minister missed a huge opportunity by not pursuing the directly-elected mayors proposal.  No other Fianna Fáil Minister in the last generation has had such a majority with which he or she could proceed with legislation like this.  It shows a lack of courage and a lack of conviction on the Minister's part and I regret that.  Nonetheless, getting rid of the dual mandate is a good move and the Green Party supports the Bill on that basis.