Local government reform
Citation:
McCarthy, Colm. 'Symposium on local government reform'. - Dublin: Journal of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland,Vol. XXVI No. 3, 1990/1991, pp318-323Download Item:
jssisiVolXXVI318_323.pdf (PDF) 213.6Kb
Abstract:
The reform proposals issued by the Minister for the Environment on March
7th last envisage an expansion in the role and scope of local government
which is very wide-ranging. It includes:
? sub-county structures to cover the entire country,
? a new regional structure between central government and the counties,
? new local authorities in Dublin,
? a devolution of functions from central to local government.
There are no proposals to eliminate any of the existing layers of administration
- the urban district councils would be replaced by the new
sub-county structures, while the existing and rather haphazard collection
of sub-national bodies, such as Shannon Development and Udaras
na Gaeltachta, would continue to operate.
The majority of citizens currently enjoy just two tiers of government,
national and one local authority. A minority fortunate enough to live in
certain towns around the country get a further helping through the urban
district council or town commissioners.
under the Minister's proposals, all citizens will now enjoy four layers of
government; national, regional, county and sub-county. At full county
level, there will be 34 authorities (versus 32 at present), eight regions, and
an unspecified number of sub-county units. At present, these sub-county
units number about 80, and represent around 15% of the population. The
extension of the coverage of these units to cover the whole country will
presumably require an increase in their numbers to several hundred, with
several thousand additional councillors.
At present, the average citizen is represented by 2.15 tiers of government,
national and local. Under the new proposals, this will rise to 4.0. Aside
entirely from cost, the case for this level of representation in a small
country is not easy to make in my view, and the report of the Government's
expert committee is not persuasive.
Description:
Read before the Society, 21 March 1991
Author: McCarthy, Colm
Other Titles:
Symposium on Local Government ReformPublisher:
Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of IrelandType of material:
Journal articleCollections:
Series/Report no:
Journal of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of IrelandVol. XXVI No. 3 1990/1991
Availability:
Full text availableKeywords:
Local government, Local authorityISSN:
00814776Licences: