Unionist parties and Alliance have complained that the local government reform could lead to the "Balkanisation" of Northern Ireland, while the SDLP said it would "ghettoise" local politics. Sinn Féin was the only party to welcome the restructuring.
Unionists, the SDLP and Alliance were in agreement that seven super councils instead of 26 would create a local government system in which nationalists had the majority in the west of the six counties, unionists were in control in the east, and Alliance held the narrow balance of power in Belfast.
DUP leader Ian Paisley described the local government changes as drastic. "This is a clear attempt to split the province. Nationalists will be able to develop their united Ireland policy in the councils that they dominate," he said.
"On the other hand the government will ensure that unionist councils will be forced into a non-democratic system whereby their democratic wishes will be thwarted. This announcement represents a serious threat to democracy and local government."
The Sinn Féin leadership generally welcomed the proposals. Assembly member Alex Maskey said the seven-council model was the fairest because it protected minority communities, was cost-effective, gave local government greater influence, removed many layers of bureaucracy and delivered the fairest rates burden.
"Strong checks and balances will also mean that the types of discrimination that still exist today on a number of unionist-dominated councils such as Lisburn and Ballymena will become a thing of the past," he said.
However, his Assembly party colleague, Francie Molloy, went against party policy and said the system would lead to a "sectarian head count". He was reportedly suspended from the party last night for making this comment on BBC Radio Ulster yesterday morning.
SDLP MP for South Down Eddie McGrady said: "One thing we can be sure of is that super councils will immediately succeed in ghettoising Northern Ireland.
"Again, in supporting this system, Sinn Féin are guilty of selling out civil rights for what I can only assume they see as increased power for their party. Super councils will succeed in underpinning the divisions between east and west that we have fought hard to eradicate."
Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey said: "We see it as potentially a giant gerrymander and a further step in the 'Balkanisation' of Northern Ireland."
Alliance leader David Ford said the proposals did not make sense for either major regional services like health or for local accountability.
