‘LOCAL GOVERNMENT
FOR THE FUTURE’
AMAI 97th Annual Conference
Ciarán Lynch TD
Labour Party Spokesperson
Housing & Local Government
9th September 2010
Where Stands Local Government ?
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‘…. local government in Ireland has rarely been accorded a status
commensurate with its democratic mandate or been accepted fully
as a valid partner in the process of government.’ Mark Callanan,
Local Government in Ireland – Inside Out, 2003.

Surely it would be an unacceptable situation for the public to elect
166 TD’s to the Dáil and then have an offical appointed to run the
country. So why is it acceptable to elect 1,678 people to local
government and then not allow them to run local government?
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Local Government should be about expressing local priorities by
those elected with a broad range of powers in decision making.
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If not, why call it local government?
Key Considerations

Structures and Systems
Reform is no guarantee that things will
improve (HSE model)
 Impression of Reform – ‘New Magistrates’
Quango’s & Boards unaccountable to the
electorate – Stewart & Davis (1994)

Green & White Paper
……..and then along came…..
The McCarthy Report & Local Gov. Efficency Review Group

‘…… proposed the gradual merging of national and local
administration and the phasing out of locally elected
representatives’
Department of Local Government and Public Health
Memorandum 1934

Local Government has and still is undergoing a case of
constructive dismissal
Reform - Two key questions

Who are the major contributors to the
reform debate?
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Who ultimately should be the major
beneficiary of reform?
Key Contributors to the debate
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Public Representatives – At all levels
Civil/Public Servants
Government Departments
Academics
Public?
Their views on ‘reform’, often conflicting,
set the context and the content of the
debate.
Examples of conflict

Division of power between the Representative and the Executive

The ‘competing’ factors between local and national representatives
(particularly following the abolition of the dual mandate).

Dept of EHHLG and individual Local Authorities, City and County
Managers, Council Staff along with all these group’s individual
representative organisations.

The reform objectives of the representative organisations of local
authority members (ACCC, AMAI & LAMA)

All of the above and other gov dept’s in relation to new
structures and tranfers of powers arising out of reform.
Culture of Local Government

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Cultural is determined by the division and balance of power
Often it is a case of the Manager and his/her officials are the ‘Local
Government’. With the Councillors functioning in the chamber as
the ‘Opposition’
The net result of Ireland’s unique culture/approach to Local
Governance is that;
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The quality of local services is seen as poor and unaccountable
The citizen finds it difficult to get access to the real decision makers
The system(s) by which Ireland provides local services are
excessively bureaucratic,
confused and costly
Political responsibility can be avoided and is often opportunistic
Local Governance/Democracy
What is the price of local democracy?

€6M! - The price of abolishing Town Councils

The Citizen (Political) versus the Consumer (Economic)

Greater Participation creates Greater Efficiency through Greater
Responsiveness

Ernst & Young Report 2009
Showing overruns of €6M on individual projects under the control of
the executive arm of local government were not unusual!

The reduction of local government is in reality a reduction of local
democracy!
The major beneficiary of reform?
Reforming local government should
improve local services
 Provide a better quality of representation
 Improve the range and efficiencies of local
and national gov.
 Allowing for better information, recourse
and participation
 Active Citizenship
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Where do we start?
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Something or somebody has got to give!
Reform should not be confused with
reductionism
Efficiency needs to defined
Dysfunctional Systems are not always
Dysfunctional Structures
Reform needs to be an ongoing process not a
‘Big Bang’ approach
Reform can not be confined to just one level of
government
Decentralisation and
Devolution

Centralisation has weakened local democracy and overburdens central
government with its limited resources.

Central Government’s role should be of that of laying out and determining
the framework of Local Government in broad policy terms and not being
overly prescriptive and rigid by micro managing local operations.

Local Government is not just about providing local services. It is also about
local democracy with the public choosing how they wish to be governed and
setting their own agenda

The development of a proper functioning system of local government in
Ireland is dependent on the devolution of centralised functioning powers to
local government.
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In summary, local government must mean local governance by those
the public choose to elect.
The Efficiency Question?
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clear dependency between national and local
government
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collaboration will compliment each other in
terms of setting national policy and providing a
framework for local action

local government can promote efficiency by
identifying solutions relevant to local problems
and conditions
Labour Local Government Manifestos
New Councils – Labour’s Plan to Reform and
Remap Local Government (2004)
-Political & Participative Democracy Model
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‘Ireland has the weakest system of Local Government in
the European Union. Ireland puts a lower proportion of
its public spending through local authorities than any
other European country. Local Government in Ireland
performs a more limited range of functions than
anywhere else in the EU, and with the exception of the
UK we have the smallest number of local authorities per
capita.’
Labour Local Government Manifestos
Getting Communities Working (2009)
-Economic & Collaborative Democracy Model
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‘In this economic crisis, leadership is vital. At national,
and at local government level, we need decisive and
imaginative action to stem job losses and to get our
economy moving again. And we need a new, more
democratic citizenship, based on fairness and respect. To
succeed, we must act together, as a community. The
burden of getting our country back on its feet must be
shared fairly, with everyone contributing according to
their ability to do so.’
Summary of Labour Local
Government Policy
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The widening of the functions of Local Government can not be
achieved under current structures
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The starting point in devising new structures of Local Government is
the individual citizen, and the community in which he/she lives

Real decentralisation requires the devolution of functions to regional
and local level

There should be two levels of Local Government: Regional
Authorities, which would include City Authorities for the larger
cities, and Local Authorities, which would include County and
rating and non rating Town Councils
A major devolution of Government functions from national to
Regional and Local levels, and new structures of Local Government
should be developed to ensure democratic management of these
services
City and Regional Authorities should have responsibility for matters
such as;
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Implementation of the National Spatial Strategy
Transport and Traffic
Economic development including Employment Services
Health
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Strategic Planning
A democratically decided Regional or City Plan would replace the
SPG model which are now handed down by the Department.
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SPC’s would accommodate the inclusion of Oireachtas members to
ensure a more collaborative model of governance
Devolving Local Governance
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Local Authorities would be given, in addition to their
existing core responsibilities, a new range of devolved
functions together with the finance and resources
needed to carry out these new roles.
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City Authorities need to be established for the other
larger cities in the country, and/or Regional Authorities
need to be established for different regions of the
country e.g. for the South East or Mid West.
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The distinction and status between County Councils and
the Town Councils should be reviewed and rebalanced.
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Where an issue arises regarding a town council seeking
rating status or dispute arises over the inclusion of an
area in a council, the issue could be resolved either by
plebiscite of the voters in that area or by
recommendation of the Local Government Commission
(Local Government Act, 2001)
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Government departments and State Agency should be
examined to identify those functions which would be
performed more effectively and appropriately at a local
level.
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Councils should have the power to seek reports from
service providers on a similar basis to Oireachtas
Committees, and to question, in public, the appropriate
managers on aspects of their service.
Power and Authority
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Powers and authority of Regional & Local councils should come from
the people. This means that the will of the elected representatives
of the people should, subject to law, take precedence in the conduct
of the council’s business.
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The position of County Manager should be abolished and replaced
by a Chief Executive of the Council.
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Chief Executives should exercise a limited range of Executive
Functions, similar to those which were originally intended in the City
and County management Acts.
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Chief Executives should have no policy making functions other than
to assist and advise the elected Council in the making of policy
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The power of the Minister to abolish a Council and to
replace it with a Commissioner should be ended.
Instead, where a Council fails to adopt an Annual
Budget, the Council should stand suspended, and fresh
elections be held to elect a new council for the
remainder of its five year cycle.
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Rates should be levied on State owned property. There is
no continuing justification for exempting State owned
property from the rates regime which applies to privately
owned businesses.
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The right to vote at local elections should be reduced to
age 16.
Conclusion
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Local Government Reform can only be achieved in the
context of a broader reform programme that not only
involves National Government Reform but also a
comprehensive reform of our public and state structures
thereby providing a clear framework as to what functions
as best suited to the differing levels of government.

It is proper that when it comes to improving local
governance that our reach should always be greater
than our grasp. This is especially so in the present
political and economic climate in which local government
and local democracy is in danger of being irreparably
damaged.

Ultimately the goal of achieving good local government
and governance should be one of an ongoing process of
evolution that devolves powers to a local level.

As public representatives we are faced with the greatest
of challenges this country has ever faced. These
challenges also present some of the greatest
opportunities we will ever have to truly improve they
way in which we choose to govern ourselves.
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With these challenges and opportunites also come
serious threats to our democratic structures.

If we are not prepared to protect the concept of
elected democratic governance at all levels, who
will?