I would like a debate on local government and how it is structured. We are now approaching the ten-year anniversary of the abolition of town councils. I say this as someone from County Louth, which has two of Ireland's biggest towns, namely Dundalk and Drogheda. We should consider the re-establishment of some town councils. I am not asking that a council be re-established everywhere that had one; it would be sufficient to ask for a study on towns with a population over a certain number. Such towns should certainly have some form of council. Dundalk, for example, has 40,000 people, and Drogheda has 41,000. Both are set to expand, each by 40,000, under Project Ireland 2040. We want 70,000 to 80,000 people living in these two towns in the next 20 years. My proposal should definitely be considered. There is nothing wrong with at least reconsidering the matter.

When there were town councils, there were obviously town clerks. These could be replaced with directors of services in large provincial towns. I ask for this because of the major issues faced by provincial towns, which are missing out because they are in with municipal districts. It was a mistake to abolish town councils nine years ago. We should consider having a debate on this. I am certainly not coming into this House saying town councils should be reintroduced tomorrow but there is nothing to fear from a debate about it. An analysis should be carried out by the Departments responsible for local government and housing to determine whether the right decision was made ten years ago and whether there is space for reintroducing town councils in substantial provincial towns with very large populations, such as Dundalk and Drogheda in County Louth.

I echo the comments of my learned colleague from County Louth about how a decision made by his party might not have been the wisest. I acknowledge his acceptance of that and the need to consider restoring town councils. They should never have been abolished in the first place. I would encourage such a debate.

I refer to the ongoing discussions about possibly restoring the 9% VAT rate to 13.5%. The Government introduced the lower rate in November 2020 as a worthwhile measure to address the challenges the hospitality sector was experiencing during Covid. It was a wise decision that I welcomed at the time. Now there is talk that perhaps the time has come to restore the rate to 13.5%. I would caution against such a decision as 13.5% would make ours the third or fourth highest rate in Europe. At a time when the number of visitors from the UK is down, we must ensure we do not put ourselves at a competitive disadvantage.

Some have proposed it might be time to split the VAT rate, with the 9% rate retained for food and drink while VAT on beds and accommodation is increased to 13.5%. I am open to that suggestion, but there are many small pubs, coffee shops and restaurants that are just about keeping their heads above water. Times are difficult, given the increase in energy costs and so forth. Now is not the time to think about increasing the rate. I would welcome a debate on this matter. I understand the Cabinet committee will meet this week and that this will be one of the issues on the agenda, as will cost-of-living measures. The time is right for the Seanad to debate this subject, which is of particular importance to rural parts of the country like mine.