IMPACT has urged local government minister Phil Hogan to give real powers and resources to new municipal districts, which are set to replace town councils this year. The union, which represents over 12,000 local authority workers, also told Mr Hogan that the continuing removal of responsibilities from local authorities could eventually make it impossible to justify local taxes, including the property tax.
Speaking at a major IMPACT conference on the future of local government, the union’s national secretary Peter Nolan said new local authority structures offered an opportunity to establish the kind of vibrant local democracy common in most EU countries. But he feared the opportunity would be missed because the powers and staffing available to municipal districts would make them even less effective than the current structures.
“Far too much power still remains at the centre. Sadly, there’s little indication that this is about to change, despite the opportunity presented by the Local Government Reform Act, which arguably heralds the biggest shake-up of local government in the history of the state. No other European country has such weak local democracy where central government determines virtually all local authority funding, staffing levels and responsibility for services. We need real reforms that give local citizens and communities the same level of democracy and subsidiarity as other Europeans,” he said.
Peter also criticised successive governments for stripping local authorities of responsibility for refuse collection, driver licensing, education grants, direct responsibility for water provision, and other services. “Local democracy badly needs some champions in Irish society. If central authorities continue to take away local government responsibilities, local authorities will become empty shells. It will become impossible to demonstrate the need for local elections – or justify local taxes, including the property tax,” he said.
Mr Nolan said the situation could start to change if the minister valued the new municipal districts, ensured that they were adequately resourced to deliver services, and clearly outlined how the transition from town councils to municipal districts would be implemented.
Mr Nolan was speaking at an IMPACT conference called Local Government 2025: How will local services and local democracy fare?’ which explored how local services, accountability and democracy will fare once reorganisation and reforms now underway rapidly change the shape, size and responsibilities of local authorities.
