Sir, – In 1971, a Fianna Fáil government published a White Paper on reform of local government. It was opposed by the Fine Gaeil/Labour opposition and was ultimately abandoned by Fianna Fáil itself. The reform proposals published by the current Government are largely similar to those in the 1971 White Paper. Thus it has taken our political system over 40 years of inaction to arrive back where it started.
Meanwhile Ireland is flat broke. Ordinary people face ongoing tax increases and cuts in public services for the old, the young, the sick and the needy.
We can no longer afford 31 separate local authorities – with the attendant costs duplication and inefficiencies, as is now proposed by Government. And with the most restricted range of functions for local government in Europe. Worse still, many are too small to provide a proper range of services and bear no relationship to present settlement and commuter patterns. No wonder, as they were configured in a 19th-century, horse-drawn era.
Responsibility for service delivery in the Waterford area and in 20 other urban areas will continue to be fragmented between authorities, as shown in the census. Dublin will continue to be administered by four separate local authorities. Such serious inbuilt design flaws in the local government system will remain. Is it better to avoid necessary change when it might affect our national politicians and their local support base?
Government and Opposition must now face reality. With the country broke, we simply cannot go on with 31 local authorities. A reduction of a third or more would significantly reduce costs,improve efficiency and provide much stronger local government with a real capacity to take on additional functions. This would not impair county identity or community linkage, the usual excuses for inaction.
Do we have to wait another 40 years for our politicians to put aside their own self-serving interests and act in the national interest? Modernisation of local government, which would achieve significant savings, is long overdue. Such reform would affect our political class and not just ordinary folk. However it seems easier to continue to raise taxes and to achieve savings through cuts in home help, special needs services, education and health. This Government was elected to serve ordinary people and to deliver genuine reform. It has manifestly failed to do so. – Yours, etc,