Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 January 2017
518. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will consider reversing the abolition of town and borough councils; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1553/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe decision to replace town authorities with a new model of municipal governance under the Local Government Reform Act 2014 was designed primarily to strengthen local government within counties and to address widely acknowledged and long-standing weaknesses and anomalies in the previous system, including divided administration between town and county authorities, for example, in relation to matters such as planning, rating and charges.
Municipal districts now cover the entire territory of each county, reflecting European norms, removing outdated boundaries and ending the anomaly of small towns having municipal status and dual representation, while some larger centres and rural areas lacked any sub-county governance. As well as creating a more rational and comprehensive structural arrangement, the new system enables more effective and community-focused decision making and implementation. Under the new arrangements, there is full integration of local authority resources across each county and elimination of duplication both in administrative and electoral terms.
In 2015, which was the first full year of the revised local government structures, a broadly based Advisory Group was convened to carry out a review of their operation, in conjunction with a Local Government Forum for engagement with the Association of Irish Local Government. Feedback from these deliberations and the results of surveys of local authority members and chief executives, indicate that the revised structures are generally operating well but will need more time to bed down fully. The results of this operational review will provide a key input to the consideration of issues in the preparation of a report for Government and the Oireachtas by mid-2017, pursuant to the Programme for a Partnership Government, on potential measures to boost local government leadership and accountability and to ensure that local government funding, structures and responsibilities strengthen local democracy, including the issue of town or borough council status.
Initial scoping work in relation to proposals to address the requirements in the Programme for a Partnership Government has been carried out and work is proceeding in my Department on the development of proposals for the purposes of the report to be submitted to Government and the Oireachtas. Decisions in relation to the issues to be addressed will be a matter for the Government and the Oireachtas, as appropriate, following consideration of the report.
