Local government is 100 years old this year. In that time it has brought real service to local communities. The elections of 1899 were the first time ordinary Irish people were given an opportunity to participate in the democratic process. Since, hundreds of men and women, with little or no personal gain, have given the highest level of public service to generations of Irish people.

Ireland has changed greatly since the present structures came into effect, and Fianna Fail has long identified the need to reinvigorate local government and adapt it to our present needs. We believe local government requires reform, not just for reform's sake, but because it must be made more relevant to a modern Ireland.

As the aspect of government which is closest to the people, Fianna Fail believes that local government should be made more people-centred. Until now, the only real say local people have had in local government is the election of councillors.

We are determined to put in place reforms which will see local people having a far more central role in the operation of local authorities. In short, we want a system where local people and local authority members will work more closely in a system which is modern, transparent and forward-looking.

We have already begun this process on many fronts. For years, local government found itself restricted in the range of services it could offer due to shortcomings in resources.

When other parties talked, Fianna Fail acted. A real step forward has been taken in this area with the introduction of the Local Government Fund, which is providing local authorities with a new and buoyant source of funding, allowing them to provide a better range of services.

Some £600 million is being provided through the fund this year, which is an extra 26 per cent on what was provided last year for discretionary use. The fund is bolstered by a guaranteed £270 million provided by central Government and is ring-fenced by protective legislation.

The balance is made up from motor taxation receipts, which means for the first time that such receipts are being used for the upkeep of local roads. By providing local authorities with more money, they have far more discretion on the range of the services they can provide. The Local Government Fund is, of course, on top of the massive resources we are already spending on roads, both national and local, and water and sewerage services - almost £1 billion this year alone.

We are also changing the way local government wields its power and operates. The Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs) will allow for a co-operative approach between local communities and local representatives. This process will be further strengthened with the establishment of Community Development Boards and the provision of Community Development Liaison Officers to ensure proper co-ordination and partnership at community level.

Local government is being returned to its rightful place at the centre of local politics by reintegrating local development with local government. The new system will put local government back at the centre of local democracy and put councillors in a pivotal role in the new system.

We will also be putting in place a Community Warden Service, drawn from local people, which will be responsible for enforcing by-laws relating to matters such as litter, and will play a role in promoting community pride and civic responsibility.

In order to underpin and secure these and other changes with legislative protection, we are preparing a major Local Government Reform Bill. The centrepiece of this Bill will be provisions to tilt greater power and responsibility towards councillors, while also making them far more accountable to people.

GREATER responsibility will require greater commitment on the part of councillors who will, as a result, no longer be able to be members of local authorities and the Oireachtas simultaneously. This will come into force from 2004, and will bring a whole new vigour and energy to local government.

Mayors and chairpersons are also to become far more central in the whole process and will have their terms of office extended to two years. Their ultimate accountability will no longer be solely to their peers, but to the people, as direct elections will be introduced for these positions.

As well as concentrating on local authority duties, councillors will be expected to initiate and make policy and take responsibility for those policies. This will involve an increased workload and commitment which will be recognised by the introduction of direct payments to councillors.

Better training and modern research backup will also be made available to councillors to help them enhance the quality of the service they can offer to people.

Our vision for local government is no illusion, but is based on a real desire and determination to ready it for the millennium and create a true partnership at local level between the people and their elected representatives.