The Government is set to amend the Local Government Bill to meet some of the concerns of its own backbenchers amid claims that some Fianna Fáil TDs may help fund a legal challenge to the measure.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, last night arranged to meet Fianna Fáil deputies today, and is expected to confirm that he will introduce regulations compelling city and county managers to give them extensive information on local authority issues.
Yesterday, the Taoiseach told party deputies and senators that he accepted their concerns that when they resign their council seats after the "dual mandate" is abolished, they should not be electorally disadvantaged by being shut out of local government activity. The main political parties are pressurising all Oireachtas members to resign from council seats quickly to allow the parties build up new candidates before next year's local government elections.
A spokesman for Mr Cullen later confirmed that the Minister is likely to change the Bill to copperfasten Oireachtas members' right of access to local government proceedings. Mr Cullen's meeting with deputies had been planned for next week but was being brought forward for "diary reasons", he said.
News of the concession comes amid claims that some Fianna Fáil TDs are so annoyed about their loss of local power that they may help fund a constitutional challenge to the Bill, being planned by Fine Gael deputy Mr Michael Ring.
Mr Ring confirmed yesterday that a number of Fianna Fáil deputies have said they will donate €500 each to fund a court challenge to the Bill. Mr Ring says he has legal advice saying that the Bill's proposal to ban Oireachtas members from sitting on local councils is unconstitutional. He has sought and received commitments from a number of Oireachtas members - including some from Fianna Fáil and Labour - to pay €500 each to fund a challenge. He declined to say how many were involved or to give names.
He said last night that he will make the challenge unless the President decides to refer the Bill to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality. Fianna Fáil deputy Mr Noel O'Flynn yesterday backed up Mr Ring's claim, telling his parliamentary party meeting that a number of party representatives may be willing to back the challenge unless the Bill is amended.
Around a dozen TDs and senators yesterday raised various objections to the Bill. Mr Cullen was not present, as he was steering the Bill through the Seanad.
Members complained that under the Bill, published last week, the Minister was only going to issue "guidelines" to county managers around the State on the information they should give to Oireachtas members. This would give the managers discretion to refuse information, putting sitting Oireachtas members at a strong disadvantage compared to councillors when it came to electorally vital constituency issues.
They complained that on the one hand the party is urging them to resign their council seats before the summer, but on the other hand once they resign they could face exclusion from local government activity, thus leaving them vulnerable to future electoral challenge from councillors.
"The biggest fear we have is that we will be shut out," said Mr O'Flynn. "We must have full access to local authorities, to all documentation and the right to question county managers in some way." Carlow/Kilkenny deputy Mr John McGuinness complained that the Bill was "ridiculously weak compared to what we were promised".
Several deputies also complained of what Mr O'Flynn called "a rowing back on promises made that Oireachtas members will be able to nominate their own replacements.
"I was told by [former Minister for the Environment] Noel Dempsey that we would have the right to name our successor.
"Now we are looking at having to go through selection conventions. Leaving the councils was the price we were paying, but we were to get this in exchange."
A spokesman for the Minister said later that while the legislation said there would only be guidelines, the Minister had always expected to introduce regulations. He confirmed that this would involve an amendment to the Bill in the Dáil before Easter.