The Dublin city manager, Mr John Fitzgerald, has queried whether it is "right to burden unpaid councillors with sole discretion for zoning of lands" that result in the creation of "enormous wealth for individual landowners".
Acknowledging that the image of local government had been "badly compromised by allegations of corruption and ongoing tribunals of inquiry", he noted there was no political involvement in dealing with development control, particularly planning appeals.
"Democracy and accountability as it operates in our system is remarkably different when compared to cities and communities in the US and across Europe where local decision-making - including local plebiscites - is the norm," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"Despite attempts at improved local democracy by transfer of powers to elected representatives, actual practice over recent years has moved in the opposite direction, such as the adoption of waste plans and traveller legislation [by city or county managers]."
Local financial accountability had been absent since the abolition of domestic rates 25 years ago. "We have ongoing arguments about service charges and reluctance to face up to any kind of domestic charge because of potential adverse impact on voting patterns."
Dublin City Council is currently facing abolition because of its failure to agree on a budget for this year that includes household waste charges. The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, must decide within days whether to give the council an extension of time.
Mr Fitzgerald said there was "little sense of responsibility for taking on local issues and running local affairs" and a "tendency right through the system to look to somebody else to solve local problems, particularly where finance is required". Far too many decisions that should be made quickly at local level "run around various Government departments for far too long", he said.
"The argument that Ireland is a small country that can be governed on a more centralised basis than any other country in Europe does not stand up. Others of our size, and smaller, are much less centralised than we are," he said.
Post "Celtic Tiger", the city manager suggested that new forms of local government should be considered. "The present structures, with their clientilist emphasis, have changed little though everything else has changed around us," he said.
Tipped to become chief executive of a Greater Dublin Authority whenever it is finally established, Mr Fitzgerald - contrary to a recent report in The Irish Times
