# Do we really need 31 separate Local Authorities?



## Sophrosyne (25 Sep 2017)

Did the Local Government Reform Act 2014 go far enough?

We have 31 Local Authorities – 26 County Councils, 3 City Councils and 2 City and County Councils.

We have 949 county councillors plus their staff.

It seems excessive for a geographically small country with a population of 4.77 million.

For instance, does Dublin City Council need 63 councillors?


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## PaddyBloggit (25 Sep 2017)

Answer to Q. 1 => No

Answer to Q. 2 => No


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## Sophrosyne (25 Sep 2017)

Local Authorities are not good at collection.

Collection of the Local Property Tax had to be taken over by Revenue, which has a 90% + compliance rate.

The latest figure for rent arrears (2015) was €65,538,477.

The authority with the highest arrears was Dublin City Council at €20,578,445.

Dublin City Council transferred their waste collection to the private sector mostly because of unpaid rates, which ran into millions. Other local authorities followed its lead.


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## Sophrosyne (25 Sep 2017)

With government funding, local authorities for the mostpart simply provide services to areas within their bailiwick.

Why do they need to be political?


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## Andy836 (25 Sep 2017)

Without generating their own income, there's no point to have separate ones.

An ideal model would be for a smaller number of LAs who generate most of their own funds themselves from local sales taxes, business rates and much higher property taxes with all that cash stating local


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## mathepac (26 Sep 2017)

Dog licensing is about to be centralised and automated, I'm not sure about the animal pounds, the motor tax is centralised and automated (and a very good job they made of it), parking fines next to leave them?


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## Jim2007 (26 Sep 2017)

It could just as easily be argued that it went way to far and that a much more decentralized system would give people more control over their lives.

Here I pay about 6% of my taxes to the federal government, 7% at the county level and the remaining 87% to the local town council!  They, not the federal or county, are responsible for the public transport, the running of the schools, the hospital, employment of the police force, social services,  the swimming pool etc.  If we are not happy we know exactly who is responsible and it is very likely that you'll bump into them in the town during the week.


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## Sophrosyne (26 Sep 2017)

But the taxation system in Ireland in centralized rather than localized.

If I live in a broadband blackspot, knowing my county councillors would not help.


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## Protocol (26 Sep 2017)

The number of LA was reduced from 114 to 31 recently.

At 31, we have a low number of LA, relative to our population.

France has 35,000 approx.


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## losttheplot (26 Sep 2017)

Sophrosyne said:


> But the taxation system in Ireland in centralized rather than localized.
> 
> If I live in a broadband blackspot, knowing my county councillors would not help.


But the local councillor will get outraged on your behalf, call on someone else to do something and demand the minister prioritise it. Where I am most councillors main concern is GAA funding.

Reports in the local paper from council meetings are mostly councillors lamenting the loss of town councils and claiming things were so much better the old way. Any issue with water is Irish Water, the councils never had issues when they had responsibility.

Some highlight the issue of rural Post offices. They also happen to be Post Masters. The rest are auctioneers, publicans or other local business people. For some, just a stepping stone to the Dail.


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## T McGibney (26 Sep 2017)

losttheplot said:


> Where I am most councillors main concern is GAA funding.


Councils have no function in that respect either.


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## Delboy (26 Sep 2017)

T McGibney said:


> Councils have no function in that respect either.


They have no function in the Palestinian-Israel conflict either but doesn't stop them spending hours debating it and deciding to fly the Palestinian flag!
A lot of the powers of LA's are now in the hands of the County Manager and his team of bureaucrats. They manage the day to day running of the county. The council chamber is mainly just a talking shop where the members vie with each other for the most media coverage (hence the varied and non-relevant topics discussed) or ask questions purely to get it noted in their local newsletter.

I have worked with most areas of the civil/public service in this country during my career. And I can say without any hesitation that the staff in LA's are the worst of the worst. They really seem to be a home for the lazy/bewildered/skivers. IMO of course!


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## losttheplot (26 Sep 2017)

Their latest craze is naming roundabouts.


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## shweeney (26 Sep 2017)

FF want to see the town councils restored and many in FG would like to see it too, so I'd expect that'll happen eventually. It's extra gravy for them and opportunities for their supporters and so on. 

We don't need half as many local authorities IMO but the way they're funded and operate is totally dysfunctional and there is little appetite for reform. Around here all the local councillors are complaining that since the town council was abolished the CC don't care about the local area so the solution is to bring back the TC



Protocol said:


> At 31, we have a low number of LA, relative to our population.
> France has 35,000 approx.



Our county councils are the equivalent of french departments which are much larger and more populous than most Irish counties (only Cork is comparable in size).  France additionally has communes, but I don't know what their function is - it's a notoriously  country, I'm not sure we should be modelling our system on theirs.


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## cremeegg (26 Sep 2017)

I struggle to think of anything in my life that is the responsibility of the council. 

There are things that should be done nationally, motor tax, property tax, roads, and coming soon perhaps social housing.

There is also a much lower level needed. A playground in Skibbereen comes under the same council as a traffic light in Youghal. That's crazy. There should be a very local level, like maybe the French commune, which can build walls, authorise road repairs etc. It should be staffed by volunteers, or just handed over to the GAA.


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## Purple (26 Sep 2017)

"Do we really need 31 separate Local Authorities?"

No.


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