merrion street

Taoiseach Enda Kenny, with Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, and Environment Minister Phil Hogan today launched "Putting People First", an action plan for the most fundamental improvements to the local government system in over one hundred years.

Speaking at the launch, the Taoiseach called the plan "one of the most radical, ambitious and far reaching governance reform plans ever put forward by an Irish Government".

The Taoiseach said:

This Government was elected with a strong mandate to deliver on radical reform for our economy, public services and our politics. If we are to drive the necessary reform across the public service then that process must begin with the political system itself. In order to bring Local Government into the 21st Century we are introducing one of the most radical, ambitious and far-reaching governance reform plans ever put forward by an Irish Government.

At the launch, Minister Hogan presented the reforms contained in the Action Programme under four main themes:

• Structure
• Funding, Accountability and Governance
• Economic Development and Job Creation
• Delivering Services Efficiently

Structures will be streamlined:

• There will be a reduction in the number of local authorities from 114 to 31 City and County Councils with integrated areas called ‘Municipal Districts’.
• Council seats will be reduced from 1,627 to no more than 950.   The members elected at local level will also represent the district at county level.
• At regional level, 3 new assemblies will replace the current 10 regional authorities and assemblies.
• There will be a rebalancing of representation nationally and more equality of representation between local electoral areas within counties.

The Tánaiste said:

Reforming local Government is about solving problems and providing services that have a direct and immediate impact on all our lives. We need local Government to be more democratic and more responsive and we need that reform to happen while at the same time keeping what works in the existing system and at a time of reducing budgets. Today, we are embarking on a path to far-reaching reform that will result in a system that is fairer, better and fit for purpose in a modern democracy.

Minister Hogan said:

Putting People First sets to reform the system of local government from structures that are largely unchanged since 1898; to modernise the approaches to ensure more is delivered to the citizen and to build confidence in the Local Government Sector by making it more accountable to the people it serves.  This document represents fundamental re-imagining of the system and it sees local government leading economic, social and community development, as well as delivering efficient services that are good value. The overall programme will save the taxpayer over €420 million.

The Minister concluded: 

Putting People First represents the most fundamental set of reforms in local government in the history of the State.   I am committed to building a stronger and more cohesive system of local government to serve the community at local level, and to make a stronger contribution to meeting national challenges.