asked the Minister for the Environment if he will consider, as a matter of urgency, reforming the system of local government with particular reference to the ratio of public representatives to population having regard to the extraordinary population increase in some parts of the country as indicated in the recent 1979 census and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Local Government System.
10.
The 1979 Census data form an important background to the examination of local government organisation which is being carried out in my Department. The question of whether a general revision of the membership of local authorities may be warranted by the population changes shown in the census is one which would fall to be considered in the context of this examination.
Would the Minister agree that he has been reviewing this situation for two-and-a-half years, that it was conceded by him to be an urgent matter for review when he took office and that the intent of this question is, above other things, to remind him of that urgency but also to draw his attention to the fact that the census data reveal that there are far more people in the State than we have thought previously? Would he, therefore, make a statement as to when we might expect something from him as distinct from another review?
It is not another review, it is the same review. I have indicated on a number of occasions that proposals on the lines of the manifesto are being developed in my Department. I have also pointed out that a review of organisation is a fairly complicated task, as the Deputy will understand. Therefore, time should be allowed to ensure that the proposals which emerge are realistic and capable of effecting the kind of genuine improvements that would be desirable in local authorities. Of course, it is very useful to have a census before this review is completed, but, in the meantime, with regard to the ratio of representation, that can be dealt with without any review, as it was in County Dublin, by request from the local authority concerned, with the exception of four boroughs and the town commissioners. They would require legislation. It is not necessary to have the review completed in order to deal with that matter.
Will the Minister agree that the census has revealed the increasing urgency of this matter? Can he give the House any indication of a date when we might have before us, either in the way of a White Paper or of legislation, for some if not all of the local authorities of this country, a proposal of reform? Does he know when and how many?
At this stage I would not give a date, but work has been going on continuously on this review and it is my intention to speed it up.
The Minister might not be there next January.
That is not for the Deputy to decide.
We might have the same nonsense with a new Minister.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Would the Minister bring before the House the sort of review that he is talking about and the proposals for the reform of local governments before the next general election?
If I am left here in accordance with what the Deputy said, I will attempt to do it.