I have been beating this drum for some time. Below is a letter I have in the Indo today on the same topic:

“Monday night’s ‘Prime Time’ programme on RTE TV focused on abuses of the planning system, conflicts of interests and the disproportionate number of auctioneers and other land agents holding local office.

Rather than condemning the ancien regime, the programme might have more constructively examined why the profile of local representatives is so.

Almost as stark as the glut of land owners, is the dearth of “ordinary citizens” from these bodies, a direct consequence of the nature, demands and token remuneration of local government.

If Minister Gormley wishes to solve the problem he will have to redress this balance by either paying a full-time wage for what is now a full-time job, or alternatively arranging corporate secondment programmes allowing employees pursue public office without financial loss.

If not, we have stepped back centuries to the point that local governance is once more a landlord’s game.

James Lawless, Sallins, Co. Kildare “