A chance to have your voice heard

In difficult times such as we are experiencing now, it is more important than ever that the voice of the people is heard.Next week there are two good chances to do that in Mullingar - when Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins comes to speak at a rally against household and water charges on Thursday of next week; and when Mullingar Chamber of Commerce hosts its third Town Hall Meeting, on Monday of next week.The first one is being organised by the Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes and it's at The Greville Arms Hotel on Thursday February 16 (7.30pm).We don't think the proposed household tax is the worst idea - most of our neighbours in Europe, including those in the North, pay property taxes of some sort - but the important thing here is that the powers that be hear our voices, whether we agree or disagree with the tax.Deputy Joe Higgins says people see the anti-tax campaign as a chance to send a message about austerity, and that is definitely a message the government needs to hear. There can never be enough debate on decision that are costing us tens of billions of euro.On a more regional level, Town Hall Meeting at the Parish Community Centre on Bishopsgate Street is open to everyone, chamber members and non-members, as the chamber recognises that businesses in the town are under increasing pressure because of the financial crisis.The intention is to update business owners on the progress made since the last Town Hall meeting, in November 2011, and as it is an open forum to voice concerns, raise issues and suggest ideas, as many people as possible should attend.Town Councils proposal not one to be welcomedLast Sunday's announcement that Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, will propose the abolition of town councils is not a move to be welcomed.While Mullingar's town councillors have described themselves as "toothless tigers", because of their low budget, and lack of power, the fact is that they are a layer not merely of bureacracy, but of democracy.There is a tiresome trend in this country for people to rattle off cliched complaints - largely so ridiculous as to be inaccurate - stating that politicians are "all the same", "overpaid", and "in it for themselves".What is often forgotten is that our public representatives are drawn from the electorate - and we all have the freedom to run.Our public representatives are chosen by the electorate - and we all have the freedom to vote. Our public representatives are there to represent our views - and we all have the freedom to contact our public representatives and make those views known to them.Our public representatives have a duty to act for the best interests of this country, this county, and this county's communities. While the town council may be the lowest tier in our political system, abolishing the town council is an erosion of our democratic rights to be represented fully. No political body has a greater handle on the micro-local issues, and can best represent the residents of the town; and the abolition of this lowest tier will have the effect of extending the distance between the voter, and the first body in which he or she is represented.