I want to discuss the proposed merger of Cork City Council and Cork County Council, about which there has been a debate for many years. It is a topic that has been debated for over a decade. The Alf Smiddy report which was published last year recommended a merger and we are now having a review of that report. There is genuine concern that we are reviewing another report. There should be only one local authority in Cork. I will park that view for now and say we need to look again at the process and what we are doing. As the executives and members of the two local authorities have made their views known, it is about time we asked the public its view. We need to hold a plebiscite. The people of Cork city and county have to be asked whether they want to have one local authority. That is the key. Everybody is having a say except the public. It is inappropriate and if we were to have a plebiscite, we would have a decent debate on the topics and issues that affect the people of Cork. We have seen mergers happen in places such as Waterford, Tipperary and Limerick and they have worked to a degree. We need to engage in this debate and get everyone involved. The debate is being run by academics, the executives of the two local authorities and, to a lesser degree, public representatives. The people are being kept out of it. A plebiscite is the only appropriate avenue to have a genuine discussion and I hope come up with a conclusion that can be backed by the people of Cork.