This is the most important section in the Bill. The public generally and the Houses of the Oireachtas do not seem to have been sufficiently conscious of what is happening here today. We do not seem to realise that this section, if passed, brings to an end any effective powers or authority that were held by local elected representatives. In the past sometimes it was difficult enough to convince people, although we usually had a high percentage poll in local elections, of the importance of local government. There was always a hard core of people who firmly believed that the retention of the powers at local level to provide essential services, to collect and levy rates for the purposes which we did in the past, was an important power to hold at local authority level.
We always felt happy at local authority level that, even if this year we did not raise sufficient rates, we did not provide all the services we would like to, we had the power to do this next year if things improved a little. Then we could collect more rates, provide more services and if we saw opportunities in the tourist or industrial area, we could provide for whatever services we wished—a new road here and there, extra amenity schemes and so on. We can do these things regardless of whether they are sanctioned by the central authority. We now have the power at local authority level, in the end, to levy whatever amount of rates we wish and to provide whatever services we think are necessary. If this section is passed that power will no longer exist.
It is wrong for anybody to suggest that the county council, or any local authority, can juggle the figures, change the situation and still do whatever they wish. The local authorities in every area are tied to the services they are given. In my county, where valuations are not increasing, last year the local authority required 14 per cent to provide the same services as the previous year. Another local authority might get that extra 4 per cent through newly valued buildings and factories and so on, but in an area like County Leitrim that is not available and we had to do with 11 per cent. There was no place we could cut expenditure except off our roads. We have watched a steady deterioration since in the services we provide. In addition we had other charges which came in during the year which had to be further deducted. For instance there were increased wages which were not budgeted for and which had to be further deducted from our road fund. The result has been a steady deterioration in the services we are giving and the one area where we are forced to put on the pressure is on our roads. It is obvious 10 per cent is not sufficient.
The local authorities, through this legislation, have lost whatever effective power they had to influence the development of their areas. It has been said that this Bill was necessary to protect the interests of other sections. In the past if any accusation could be levelled against county councils it was that they neglected to give many essential services and sometimes neglected to develop those services because they had too much concern for the people who were obliged to pay rates. The one thing local authorities, who have always been very close to the people at local level, and were always the first to react to any pressure that came as a result of any injustice, would not do was to penalise any section of ratepayers in order to improve services or provide new ones. Even if they failed in the past, they always looked to the day when things would improve, perhaps when it would be necessary, and they would have this power.
In the immediate future I do not see what functions local authorities will have. In this year and next year their sole function will be to supervise spending by the manager in the services they have been given, to supervise the day-to-day running of the county council. Years ago this function was taken over by the county manager. I never complained about that, although many older councillors did, because I did not see that as a serious taking away of the powers of local authorities. But this is the end of local government as we know it. This means that local authorities have no function except to pass pious resolutions which will be sent to the Ministers for Finance and for the Environment and wait for the reply to come back denying them the right to do this, that or the other, and refusing them the money. It does not take into consideration that a 10 per cent limit will be imposed any year, or less if a Minister decides, while no limit can be imposed on the bodies which make demands on the county councils, such as committees of agriculture, drainage boards, the Board of Works charges, all the things which could increase expenditure by 20 to 25 per cent. This has not been looked at. It is unfortunate that the Government found themselves in the position where they realised that local authorities were going to run short of cash.
If the sole purpose of this Bill was to give relief on rates there was no need for this section. In the past when a Government gave relief on rates they did so, and the local authority struck their rate and passed the demand note on to the Minister for Finance, which could have been done in this case, and allow the local authorities to carry on as they did in the past, and leave them the discretion they enjoyed up to now to levy whatever rate they thought necessary. With the passing of this Bill local authorities will find themselves in a situation where they are purely bodies who will give advice to the county manager on the day-to-day working of the authority.
The primary function of the local authorities is to promote the development of their areas and to provide essential services. That has disappeared. They will be tied to the services they have been given in the past. There is no question that any of the services which local authorities provided last year can be eliminated in this year's budget. We must continue to give these services. In rural areas where county councils have, over the years, extended their mileage of roads, declared a certain quota of roads public every year, and which demanded increased cost of maintenance, must all stop from now on. It is futile for county councils to carry on this because there will not be any money to carry out maintenance.
In most counties in the west there is a credit squeeze at the moment. It is obvious it is going to continue. The roads have started to deteriorate and it is obvious in every area that this is happening, particularly in Leitrim where because of inflation any improvement in services must come directly out of our existing valuation. We do not have new factories and new buildings coming into the rating net. We will have a steady erosion of the services and facilities we provide and we will not have the power even to put a light outside a church gate or an extension in a town or village. That is the position we find ourselves in. It is most regrettable that local authorities do not seem to have noticed what is happening. The public will not be conscious of it until the debate starts leading up to the local elections. Suddenly they will ask themselves: "What is local government about? They will find that whatever it was about at the last election, there is a lot less involved today.
At a time when we are talking about power being taken away from Parliament, we should be more careful than ever to ensure that the local community have a say in the running of their own affairs as far as possible. It was a healthy situation where local authorities had the right to levy whatever rates they thought were necessary and to provide services. It is said that this Bill is to protect people from their own elected representatives. It is the most dishonest approach I have ever seen. It is an effort to compel local authorities to cut back on their services to enable Fianna Fáil to pay for the promises they made in the last elections and people will think it is the local authorities that are at fault, not the Government. As the election gets under way and as people start to think seriously about the question of local government in the next few months I hope people will be made conscious of all this and that unlike much legislation that has been passed we will in the future see legislation brought in to repeal the wrong that has been done here in the interest of "protecting people from their local elected representatives". It is disgraceful.