Vol. 457 No. 7
180 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment the consideration, if any, he has given, as part of local government reform, to ending the dual mandate as recommended by the Second Commission on the Status of Women in its report to Government, January 1993. [16167/95]
The Local Government Act, 1991 introduced a disqualification for dual local authority/Oireachtas membership in the case of Ministers and Ministers of State. The Local Government Act, 1994 updated and consolidated the law generally on disqualifications for local authority membership. It extended the range of disqualifications to include, inter alia, members of the European Parliament, the holders of certain senior Oireachtas positions— Ceann Comhairle, Cathaoirleach of the Seanad and chairpersons of certain committees—and also excluded Oireachtas Members from the position of local authority cathaoirleach. Under that Act, these disqualifications come into effect for the purpose of the next local elections in 1998. At this point, there are no proposals to further extend the range of disqualifications which apply as regards the dual mandate. However, the matter will be kept under review in the light of the ongoing local government reform programme.
