Bradford calls for review of local authority reforms

The reform of local government in 2014, which resulted in the abolition of town councils and the creation of municipal districts, was a sea change in local government but in retrospect, many people have come to the conclusion that some of the changes have had a negative impact, Renua Senator Paul Bradford told the Upper House.

In particular, he said there is a growing view that local government structures at town and community level must be reviewed again. “I am sure many municipal districts are working effectively, but some of them are large. For example, a number in County Cork are 18 miles long. Once a municipal district is of that scale, the word ‘local’ is removed from the concept of local government and local democracy. We are more than three years away from the next local government elections. Unfortunately, these elections are held on a fixed five-year basis, but we have time to plan ahead.”

In the immediate aftermath of the changes, a number of senior and junior Ministers, led by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (Brendan Howlin), stated that they felt a review was required and consideration should be given to a town council structure in particular, he said.

“If there is a willingness to do that, we must look beyond the traditional town councils,” he continued. “Many large towns and urban areas never had a town council, and I hope that a review would consider areas where new structures are required. What is the current status of the operational review? Where is it heading from the point of view of its thinking and philosophy on local government reform and local structures? We still complain in this country about top-down decision-making in Brussels and about centralised thinking and political decision-making, but that is what have begun to do at local government level. If we want to empower and engage citizens and if we want communities to work with and on behalf of each other, driving local services, newer and small local government structures will be required.”

In response, Minister of State Ann Phelan said  the new structures and reform measures are still at an early stage of implementation, and it is likely to take a full five-year period of operation before a definitive assessment can be made.

“It is important, none the less, to ensure that the reformed system is operating effectively and as intended,” she said. “To this end, the Minister initiated an operational review of new arrangements in 2015 involving an advisory group, on which both elected members and local authority chief executives are represented together with a local government forum for engagement with the Association of Local Government in Ireland. The feedback to date from these groups suggests that the revised structures are generally operating quite well but will need more time to bed down fully.”