Local elections mean little in one of the most centralised states in the EU, argues Frank McDonald
The late Tom Barrington spent at least the last three decades of his life championing the cause of local government in Ireland. What we have, he always argued, is merely a system of local administration, ordered as such by the most centralised state in Europe.
Dr Barrington's main point was that this is not in the interest of central or local government, because it inevitably means that civil servants in government departments become entangled in a web of bureaucratic detail while those at local level must await approval even for the smallest schemes.
Thus, senior officials in the Department of Transport have spent much of the past two years examining the technicalities of route options for a rail link from Dublin Airport to the city centre. Clearly, that's a job which could more appropriately be done by a democratically-accountable transport authority.
In April 2001, the Government proposed establishing a new regional authority for the Greater Dublin Area, with wide powers for strategic planning and transport provision. The Taoiseach said it was "the only way" of reconciling "too many different agendas" among numerous governmental agencies.
However, although Mr Ahern saw the new authority as "an important part of the jigsaw for the future of Dublin for the next generation or more", nothing has happened since; the idea has been quietly buried, so the power to control everything will continue to reside in central government departments.
It's so much more convenient to have a brace of nine regional authorities that don't really have any authority at all, except on issues like deciding on their own logos. Being indirectly elected, they're not accountable to the public either, and provide little more than a vehicle that can be milked by councillors for mileage expenses.
Instead of devolving power to local councils, the Government is bent on its decentralisation programme. This would involve relocating 10,000 civil servants (half of all the staff still based in Dublin) to 53 locations in 25 counties, as if to provide physical evidence everywhere of the tentacles of central government.
Now ministers are moving to create a new infrastructure board which will be given the task of fast-tracking major projects such as motorways under a new regime that will cut out local authorities other than for mere consultation.
Even their power to designate speed limits on main roads may be taken away.
The reserved power of local councillors to adopt, amend or reject regional waste management plans has already been removed. Thanks to the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, who strongly favours incineration, this power - like so many others - is now exercised by city and county managers.
When Dún Laoghaire Rathdown councillors adopted a county plan that did not, in the county manager's view, zone sufficient land to implement its housing strategy, the Minister resorted to using a power that had never before been exercised, to direct the council to rezone more land - which it duly did.
But Mr Cullen will do nothing to stop the abuse of Section 140 powers by Kerry councillors directing the county manager to grant planning permission for houses in the countryside - even in cases that would otherwise be refused on such grounds as public health and safety or the despoilation of amenity areas.
Since this is one of the few real powers still held by elected local representatives, it is little wonder that it's abused.
Local authorities were criticised by the Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, in her latest annual report for their widespread failure to enforce the planning laws. But what percentage is there in doing that for any local government official when even the Taoiseach made a representation to go easy on one offender? Of course, local councils do discharge important functions - building social housing, managing the traffic, providing public amenities and dealing with waste management being just some of them. But their powers to act are hugely constrained by limited resources and the Government's drip-feed approach.
Since domestic rates were abolished in 1978, with far-reaching consequences for the standing of local government in Irish society, most councils have had little room for discretionary spending on local projects. Managers also tend to be "pro-development", with an eye to the revenue it would generate.
As part of the deal to end the dual mandate, TDs and Senators must be kept informed by local authorities of schemes in their areas, presumably so that they can claim some kudos by being first to convey the good news. And they won't have to worry about local rivals stealing the limelight.
There was a firm proposal for directly-elected mayors and council chairs, who would hold these posts on a full-time basis for four years. But the Government had second thoughts, fearing that democracy would produce a clutch of Ken Livingstones and create an alternative power centre in Dublin.
The 1998 programme, Better Local Government, sought to streamline the system by creating strong management teams, with powerful new posts called directors of services, and integrating the previously separate worlds of technical and administrative staff. But the style is still set by the manager.
Some local authorities availed of the boom to build impressive new headquarters for themselves, often with the conscious intention of reflecting notions about accountability and transparency in their architecture. Fingal, Offaly and Limerick county halls are prime examples of the legacies of this period.
But none of these fine buildings, nor any of the city and county halls inherited from the past, will ever be symbols of locally-exercised democracy as long as Ireland remains the last outpost of bureaucratic Stalinism in Europe. The "decentralised offices" down the road will be where the dictatorship lurks.