Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-15
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Edward Timmins (FG), Wicklow

I appreciate that the Minister understands and that he has been there. I repeat that powers are far too centralised in this country. We all know the word "subsidiarity". The programme for Government supports it, and it is stated in it, but we do not apply it to councils. They have the local knowledge and must be allowed more autonomy in decision-making. In addition to this, communication between Departments and local authorities must be improved. At the beginning of last year, I asked in the Dáil that the Minister give local authorities housing targets and that every quarter he would meet, on a formal basis, with the CEOs and directors of planning of the councils and that he would monitor these targets monthly. This must happen. It is too important not to happen. This will lead to hard questions being asked of the councils and also hard questions being asked of the Departments. Similarly, more communication needs to happen with county councillors. There are six times as many county councillors as TDs and we need to use this resource. The voices of the people who elect councillors are not being heard. The centralised decision-making process undermines our democracy.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-15