Madam, - Surely it is time for the Government to withdraw gracefully from the campaign for decentralisation. Obviously Ireland has a highly centralised administration and many services should be brought closer to the customer. However, distributing bits of government departments among 53 locations is not the remedy. A better approach is to devolve more functions to local authorities.
This is not a novel suggestion. Devolution has been widely discussed over the past 40 years but with little consequence. It has featured in ministerial pronouncements, official reports, conference papers and in the pioneering work of the late T.J. Barrington.
Three significant events in recent years should encourage us to take the idea more seriously: (a) the report of the Devolution Commission (1997); (b) the amendment of the Constitution to give constitutional recognition to local government (1999); (c) the Local Government (No.2) Act 2003 which in effect abolished the "dual mandate" and separated the role of parliamentarian and councillor.
Have these developments produced any change in central/local relationships? Paradoxically, the trend is towards increased centralisation of functions with the establishment of bodies such as the Health Service Executive and many other public agencies.
Why not drop the proposals for decentralisation and substitute a programme of devolution? The role of local government would then be substantially enhanced while government departments would concentrate primarily on policy formation and analysis.
The policy function is best discharged at the centre in that optimum environment where government, parliament, State departments and other public and private sector institutions operate in close proximity. - Yours, etc,
T. O CONNOR, Churchtown, Dublin 14.