Attending the recent MacGill Summer School in the beautiful Glenties area of Donegal focused my mind reform of our political system. Hearing from the various speakers including Fianna Fáil Ministers, has solidified my belief that there is real potential for positive change.
Since the foundation of the State in 1922, the system of governance has broadly remained the same; a very dominant parliamentary system and relatively weak local government.
My colleague, Noel Dempsey TD during his contributions to the Summer School said that we needed a radical reform of our political structures in order to repair and renew our Republic. He has suggested single seat constituencies to stamp our intra-party rivalries and to stop constituency work being the primary focus of our representatives in Dáil Éireann. This would allow TDs to focus their minds on legislating for the entire country. I believe that it is good that our TD’s are aware of what is happening on the ground in their constituencies but it should not distract them from the important work of legislating for all our country like fixing our banks, creating jobs and dealing with the problems our society faces. Minister Dempsey also suggested the idea of a partial list system to elect some of our national parliamentary representatives. While this is a radical move, it is deserving of serious debate and deliberation.
Going hand in hand with reforming our national parliament I believe that our local authorities should be strengthened. Every five years, nearly 900 County Councillors and roughly the same number of Town Councillors are elected. Yet, we have limited say in how our Town and County Councils are run. We pass the budget each December and can make representations on behalf of our constituents but in reality, the big decisions are made by of the Director of Services and officials.
If we are to break the link between parish pump politics and our representatives in Dáil Éireann, we must empower our Councillors to get things done, take decisions and ultimately be held accountable for those decisions. The question is whether most Councillors want to be held accountable. This is the challenge, we as Fianna Fáil local authority members must face. We must lead the battle for greater powers and ultimately greater responsibility.
I believe most Councillors do a fantastic job and give it their all on a daily basis. While officially, it is a part time position I believe that consideration should be given to full time local authority members. I do believe that it is necessary if local government is to serve its purpose.
Maybe now is the time for a complete renewal of our political system. To bring it into the 21st century, to bring our Republic into a new era and to make our citizens proud of us once more.