I am happy to make a brief contribution to this debate.
The urban district council elections were postponed by this Government on the basis of their undertaking a radical reform of local government. This Bill, published some days ago, comprises a comprehensive analysis from the Minister's point of view of what should be done in local government in 1994, that is assuming he conducted an analysis into the present state of affairs vis-à-vis local government. I am disappointed that the evidence and the information available to the Minister from a wide variety of sources did not lead him to introduce a Bill of radical proportions. The only effect of this Bill is that urban council boundaries are being extended for electoral purposes this year, £2 million is being made available for libraries and urban district councils and local authorities will be given relief in respect of the introduction of by-laws.
Whoever wrote the first portion of the Minister's script is obviously a person of literary ability. "The law on local government was still an archaic, obscure and inconsistent labyrinth". It is not the usual outline one gets from Departments. Having referred to the local archives that person also has an interest in tradition and culture. Obviously they have a wealth of information about how archaic local government is. I am not sure whether that person is one of the two officials present but they must be bored out of their minds listening to references to county roads, potholes and so on.
I am disappointed that the Minister for the Environment, Deputy Smith, did not take this Bill to the limit and propose radical reform of local government. As the Minister said, we are five years from the centenary of the foundation of local government in Ireland. The legacy we bequeath to the next generation will not be great. As Deputy Batt O'Keeffe said, certain Acts are being repealed while others are being examined but the Bill does not address the fundamental questions which pertain to local government in the mid-nineties and as we head towards the end of the century.
The local authority is the fundamental organ of economic development and expansion in Ireland and it should be given the opportunity to be such. This Bill does not address the necessity for local authorities to grasp that opportunity. The Minister pointed out that in 1961 a clear majority of Ireland's population was rural; in 1994, 60 per cent of the population live in towns thus putting enormous pressure on housing, water and sanitary facilities, amenity and leisure facilities, educational and administrative facilities, etc.
The Minister touched on the question of the dual mandate and said that Deputies and Senators would be disqualified from local authority membership. I can picture the Minister for the Environment walking around Herbert Park or the fields of Tipperary thinking long and hard on the dual mandate. He arrived at the wonderful result that it would not be appropriate at this stage. The Minister would have thought long and hard about the dual mandate and whether he should confront the Deputies and Senators of the Fianna Fáil Party and tell them he was about to end the dual mandate and that they can be a Member of the Oireachtas or a member of a council but not both. No doubt the junior partner in Government, led by the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, would also have thought long and hard about this. I am not sure what advice the Minister of State would have given to the Minister before he arrived at the decision that dual membership would not be appropriate at this stage. Does that mean it may become appropriate at another stage? Will the Minister have to think long and hard about it again to take the next step? I note the references to "cathaoirleach" and "leas-chathaoirleach" of local authorities, but they will still be called "chairman", "chairperson" and so on throughout the country. The graduation from English terms to Irish terms in local authorities takes a long time.
Since 1975 I have served on the local authority of which I am a member, Mayo County Council. Attendance at meetings has never interfered with my ability to perform both jobs. In general, it enhances one's ability to deal with problems arising at local level. It helps the members of local authorities understand that, if necessary, there is another forum in which to raise these issues. If the Minister and the Minister of State seek the views of Government backbenchers who are also members of local authorities the majority will inevitably be in favour of a continuation of dual membership.
Physically, geographically and politically it would be difficult to hold dual mandate in terms of membership of this House and membership of the European Parliament because of the extensive constituencies and the duties involved. When one represents a Dáil constituency and is a part of a local authority one becomes familiar with various problems and is able to deal with them. The Minister's conclusion that dual membership would not be appropriate at this stage smacks of his fears of the wrath of standing up in the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party and saying that "dual membership is over and that as we approach 1999 as Minister for the Environment he has decreed that nobody who stands for the Dáil can also be a member of a local authority. That battle will be fought in the backrooms of the Fianna Fáil Party. I do not know the Labour Party position but I am sure they will have a view.
If the Fianna Fáil Party stand for the grassroots and for the small man they will want their Deputies serving on local authorities. That is a personal view. From experience I know it is feasible to have dual membership in the Dáil and on a local authority and that one can perform both functions well; one does not interfere unduly with the other.
I listened to Deputy O'Keeffe saying that Deputies should devote more time to legislation and scrutinising Committee Stages of Bills and so on. The quality of any Government should not be judged by the amount of legislation enacted but rather by the quality and the effect of that legislation for the common good and should reflect the rights of minority groups.
The effectiveness of a Government should be judged by the quality of the legislation passed, its effect on the common good and its reflection of rights for the minority. That is what the people elected their Deputies to do, in a general sense that is their brief. If their views are reflected in legislation it can solve the difficulties ordinary people face.
The principal organ of development should be the local authority but there is a great degree of overlap and undue bureaucracy in many local authorities. For instance in County Mayo, the functions of the development agencies overlap, although one is told that they do not. One has to deal with Údarás na Gaeltachta, Forbairt, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, the regional tourist offices, Bord Fáilte and to a lesser extent, Teagasc. The developmental agencies set up under the Programme for Economic and Social Progress, FÁS, the Leader programme, the county enterprise boards and the small industries division of Forbairt are also involved. A person with a proposal has to deal with a number of agencies. Evidence has emerged that duplicate grants were paid in respect of the same business — which were withdrawn when it was discovered. It was possible to submit applications to several bodies such as a county enterprise board and to a Leader programme and to submit duplicate original receipts in many cases. A single developmental organisation located in one centre, could streamline applications and eliminate duplication of administrative costs. State funding is wasted to some extent by the duplication of resources. The number of developmental organisations, good though they may be in their own right, causes great confusion. We can develop this point later but I am not happy with the situation.
Castlebar Urban District Council has an annual expenditure of around £2 million, £150,000 of which comes from the rates support grant and £600,000 from commercial rates. The rate is £39 in the £ valuation, one of the highest in the country; £150,000 in service charges and the domestic service charge is £110, one of the five highest in the country. If rates had not been abolished in the 70s householders would be paying rates of between £600 and £800 at 1994 levels — the rateable valuation might not be as high as the rates would impinge directly on the voters. Councillors deal with commercial water charges, car parking charges, annuities on council houses and revenue from graves. This leads to a shortfall and they are £1.1 million in debt. In fairness, the Department of the Environment increased their allocation by 3 or 4 per cent on last year's allocation and, with inflation so low, this will marginally reduce the debt. Many local authorities are in the same situation.
The Minister referred to the ability to introduce by-laws. This is a welcome trend but the reality of implementing it is another matter. For example, the Garda Commissioner has the authority to decide where double yellow lines will be located. I know my local authority submitted numerous applications to the Department of the Environment and to the Department of Justice for no parking areas but the number of queries raised suggests that officials in the Custom House were not au fait with the situation. The provisions on by-laws in the Bill will not deal with this problem or with the issue where local authorities may wish to have areas where travellers cannot park. One has to apply to the Revenue Commissioners for permission to set up a taxi rank. Perhaps the Minister will give examples of the by-laws that can be introduced by the local authorities without reference to ministerial sanctions.
A number of weeks ago I related an incident I witnessed in the course of my duties in the northern part of my constituency. Three bullocks were drinking out of a pothole and each had sufficient, which is an indication of the size of the pothole. Every Deputy, with the exception of those who live in small city constituencies where the roads are good, have problems with county roads.
The Commissioner did not do anything for the county road system in the county. If the county council is to be the organ of development something could be done about the duplication in training and expertise. A great deal needs to be done such as the development of new parks, wall building and the basic essentials of the side dressing of roads and cutting bushes. This could be done in conjunction with FÁS schemes but it does not happen because of problems with unions. In some counties as many as 300 or 400 people are doing this essential work and, as the Minister of State knows, if the water is not removed from the road surface there will be problems. Irrespective of what moneys are spent, the problem will not be dealt with unless there is adequate manpower to carry out that work in a wet climate.
I hope the Minister will accept amendments. He has an opportunity to reform local authorities to bring them into the next century so that they will be the principal organ of development as well as dealing with the fundamental question of the authorities' ability to raise money. I hope that on Committee Stage that the Minister and his Minister of State will, to use his own words, "think long and hard about this" and accept reasonable amendments.