Local government in the Republic of Ireland

Last updated

Local government
in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland counties and cities.svg
Category Unitary state
Location Ireland
Number
  • 26 County Councils
  • 3 City Councils
  • 2 City and County Councils
Populations31,972 (County Leitrim) – 592,713 (Dublin city)
Areas54 km² (Galway city) – 7,468 km² (County Cork)
Government
  • Council government
Subdivisions

The functions of local government in the Republic of Ireland are mostly exercised by thirty-one local authorities, termed County, City, or City and County Councils. [1] [2] [3] The principal decision-making body in each of the thirty-one local authorities is composed of the members of the council, elected by universal franchise in local elections every five years from multi-seat local electoral areas using the single transferable vote. Many of the authorities' statutory functions are, however, the responsibility of ministerially appointed career officials termed Chief executives. [4] The competencies of the city and county councils include planning, transport infrastructure, sanitary services, public safety (notably fire services) and the provision of public libraries. [2] Each local authority sends representatives to one of three Regional Assemblies. [5]

Contents

Local government in the state is governed by Local Government Acts 1925 to 2019, the principal act of which is the Local Government Act 2001. [6] The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 is the founding document of the present system. [7] The Twentieth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland (1999) provided for constitutional recognition of local government for the first time in Ireland in a new Article 28A. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 changed the structure by the abolition of all town councils and the merger of certain county councils. The reforms came into effect in 2014, to coincide with that year's local elections. [8] [9] [10]

Historical development

The county was a unit of judicial and administrative government introduced to Ireland following the Norman invasion. The country was shired in a number of phases with County Wicklow being the last to be shired in 1625. The traditional county of Tipperary was split into two judicial counties (or ridings) following the establishment of assize courts in 1838. At various times in the past, other entities at a level below that of the county or county borough have been employed in Ireland for various judicial, administrative and revenue collecting purposes. Some of these, such as the barony and Grand jury, no longer fulfil their original purpose while retaining only vestigial legal relevance in the modern state. Others, such as the poor law unions, have been transformed into entities still in use by the modern state, but again, their original functions have been substantially altered.

Sixty years later, a more radical reorganisation of local government took place with the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. This Act established a county council for each of the thirty-three Irish counties and ridings (County Tipperary was divided with North Riding and South Riding). County boroughs in each of the cities were separate from the counties. Each county was divided into urban and rural districts. Urban districts in the area of five municipal boroughs retained the style and title of a borough with a corporation. In all other places, a district council was established. Smaller towns retained town commissioners within rural districts. The geographic remit of the Irish Free State, established in December 1922 pursuant to the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, was confined to twenty-six of the traditional counties of Ireland, which included 27 administrative counties and four county boroughs.

Rural districts were abolished everywhere except County Dublin in 1925, and in County Dublin in 1930.

In 1994 County Dublin and the Borough of Dún Laoghaire were abolished with their administrative areas being divided among three new counties: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. The state was divided into eight Regional Authorities.

The Local Government Act 2001 simplified the local government structure, with the principal tier of local government (county and city councils) covering the entire territory of the state and having general responsibility for all functions of local government except in 80 towns within the territory of county councils, where the lower tier (town councils) existed with more limited functions. The five county boroughs of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford, and Limerick were re-styled city councils, with the same status in law as county councils. The lower-level tiers of borough corporations, urban district councils and town commissioners were reduced to a single tier of town council, with five permitted to retain the title of borough council: the city of Kilkenny and the four towns of Sligo, Drogheda, Clonmel, and Wexford.

The Local Government Reform Act 2014 enacted changes which took effect after the 2014 local elections:

The civic and ceremonial status of existing cities, boroughs and larger towns was retained after being merged with counties. Those municipal districts that included existing cities or boroughs merged became either "metropolitan districts" or "borough districts". They continue to have mayors as do those districts containing county towns. In all other councils the equivalent office is known as Chair or Cathaoirleach. Each municipal district was issued with a new statutory charter setting out its powers alongside any historic charters that already existed. [11]

Proposed reforms

At the 2019 Limerick City and County Council election, voters approved a proposal in a plebiscite on the establishment of a directly elected mayor for Limerick City and County by a vote of 52.4%. [12] In August 2023, the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023 was published. [13] Kieran O'Donnell, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, stated that it was the intention of the government that the election for a directly elected Mayor for Limerick would be held on the same date as the 2024 local elections, which will be held between 6 June and 9 June 2024. [14]

On 6 June 2018, the government announced that Galway City Council and Galway County Council were to be merged into a single local authority by 2021. [15] As of late 2021, this proposal was reportedly "off the agenda". [16]

County and city councils

Region Local authorityPopulation
(2022) [17]
Area
(km2)
Population densityHead officeTitle of ChairNumber [18] Resident per memberRegional Assembly membersCode [lower-alpha 1]
Eastern and Midland Eastern and Midland 2,529,358
Dublin City Council 588,2331185,002 Dublin Lord Mayor 639,3377D
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council 233,4571271,840 Dún Laoghaire Cathaoirleach405,8363D
Fingal County Council 329,218453727 Swords Mayor 408,2303D
Kildare County Council 246,9771,694146 Naas Cathaoirleach406,1743KE
Laois County Council 91,6571,72053 Portlaoise Cathaoirleach194,8242LS
Longford County Council 46,6341,09143 Longford Cathaoirleach182,5912LD
Louth County Council 139,100832167 Dundalk Cathaoirleach294,7972LH
Meath County Council 220,2962,33594 Navan Cathaoirleach405,5073MH
Offaly County Council 82,6681,99042 Tullamore Cathaoirleach194,3512OY
South Dublin County Council 299,7932231,344 Tallaght Mayor407,4953D
Westmeath County Council 95,8401,82553 Mullingar Cathaoirleach204,7922WH
Wicklow County Council 155,4852,03376 Wicklow Cathaoirleach324,8593WW
Northern and Western Northern and Western 900,937
Cavan County Council 81,2011,93242 Cavan Cathaoirleach184,5112CN
Donegal County Council 166,3214,86034 Lifford Cathaoirleach374,4953DL
Galway City Council 83,4561,57253 Galway Mayor 184,6362G
Galway County Council 192,9956,10032GalwayCathaoirleach394,9493G
Leitrim County Council 35,0871,58922 Carrick-on-Shannon Cathaoirleach181,9492LM
Mayo County Council 137,2315,58825 Castlebar Cathaoirleach304,5743MO
Monaghan County Council 64,8321,29650 Monaghan Cathaoirleach183,6022MN
Roscommon County Council 69,9952,54827 Roscommon Cathaoirleach183,8892RN
Sligo County Council 69,8191,83838 Sligo Cathaoirleach183,8792SO
Southern Southern 1,693,241
Carlow County Council 61,93189869 Carlow Cathaoirleach183,4412CW
Clare County Council 127,4193,44237 Ennis Cathaoirleach284,5512CE
Cork City Council 222,3331,123198 Cork Lord Mayor 317,1722C
Cork County Council 358,8987,28149CorkMayor556,5255C
Kerry County Council 155,2584,73533 Tralee Cathaoirleach334,7053KY
Kilkenny County Council 103,6852,07250 Kilkenny Cathaoirleach244,3202KK
Limerick City and County Council 205,4442,76074 Limerick Mayor 405,1363L
Tipperary County Council 167,6614,30439 Clonmel & Nenagh Cathaoirleach404,1923T
Waterford City and County Council 127,0851,85968 Waterford Mayor323,9712W
Wexford County Council 163,5272,36569 Wexford Cathaoirleach344,8103WX
Ireland5,123,53670,182739495,399
  1. Vehicle registration plate code. The code may cover the area of multiple local government areas, as in the case of the 4 areas of Dublin.

European Union territorial divisions

Eurostat, the statistical Directorate-General of the European Union, uses a geographical hierarchy system called the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) for various statistical and financial disbursement purposes. The entirety of Ireland is a First-level NUTS of the European Union. The Second level (NUTS 2) divides Ireland into three Regions. The Third level (NUTS 3) divides these Regions again, with total of 8 regions in Ireland. [19] Below this are local administrative units (LAUs) which are the basic statistical components for the regions; in Ireland these are the local electoral areas (LEAs). Electoral divisions have no local government functions, and are used solely for statistical purposes and for defining electoral boundaries. [20]

Funding

Following the abolition of domestic property rates in the late 1970s, local councils found it extremely difficult to raise money. The shortfall from the abolition of property rates led to the introduction of service charges for water and refuse, but these were highly unpopular in certain areas and led in certain cases to large-scale non-payment. Arising from a decision made by the Rainbow Government domestic water charges were abolished on 1 January 1997 placing further pressure on local government funding.

The Department of Finance is a significant source of funding at present, and additional sources are rates on commercial and industrial property, housing rents, service charges and borrowing. [21] The dependence on Exchequer has led to charges that Ireland has an overly centralised system of local government.

Over the past three decades numerous studies carried out by consultants on behalf of the Government have recommended the reintroduction of some form of local taxation/charging regime, but these were generally seen as politically unacceptable. However, in 2012 the Local Government Management Agency was established to provide a central data management service to enable the collection of the Home Charge, the Non Principle Private Residence (NPPR) charge and the proposed water charge. [22] [23] [24]

Since 1999, motor tax is paid into the Local Government Fund, established by the Local Government Act 1998, and is distributed on a "Needs and Resources" basis. [25]

In 2013, a local property tax was introduced to provide funding for local authorities.

Responsibilities

Local government has progressively lost control over services to national and regional bodies, particularly since the foundation of the state in 1922. For instance, local control of education has largely been passed to Education and Training Boards, while other bodies such as the Department of Education still hold significant powers. In 1970 local government lost its health remit, which had been already eroded by the creation of the Department of Health in 1947, to the Health Board system. In the 1990s the National Roads Authority took overall authority for national roads projects, supported by local authorities who maintain the non-national roads system. The whole area of waste management has been transformed since the 1990s, with a greater emphasis on environmental protection, recycling infrastructure and higher environmental standards. In 1993 the Environmental Protection Agency was established to underpin a more pro-active and co-ordinated national and local approach to protecting the environment. An Bord Pleanála was seen as another inroad into local government responsibilities. Additionally, the trend has been to remove decision-making from elected councillors to full-time professionals and officials. In particular, every city and county has a manager, who is the chief executive but is also a public servant appointed by the Public Appointments Service (formerly the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission), and is thus answerable to the national government as well as the local council. Therefore, local policy decisions are sometimes heavily influenced by the TDs who represent the local constituency in Dáil Éireann (the main chamber of parliament), and may be dictated by national politics rather than local needs.

Local government bodies now have responsibility for such matters as planning, local roads, sanitation, and libraries. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government has responsibility for local authorities and related services. Fingal County Manager David O'Connor: "Local Authorities perform both a representational and an operational role because the Irish system of Local Government encompasses both democratic representation and public administration." [26]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counties of Ireland</span> Administrative division of Ireland, historically 32 in number

The counties of Ireland are historic administrative divisions of the island. They began as Norman structures, and as the powers exercised by the Cambro-Norman barons and the Old English nobility waned over time, new offices of political control came to be established at a county level. The number of counties varied depending on the time period, however thirty-two is the traditionally accepted and used number.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Tipperary</span> Former Irish county (1899–2014)

North Tipperary was a county in Ireland in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary and consisted of 48% of the land area of the traditional county of Tipperary. North Tipperary County Council was the local authority for the county. In 2011, the population of the county was 70,322.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Tipperary</span> Former Irish county (1899–2014)

South Tipperary was a county in Ireland in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary and consisted of 52% of the land area of the traditional county of Tipperary. South Tipperary County Council was the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 88,433 according to the 2011 census. It was abolished on 1 June 2014, and amalgamated with North Tipperary to form County Tipperary under a new Tipperary County Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown</span> County in Ireland

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished in 1994. It is named after the former borough of Dún Laoghaire and the barony of Rathdown. Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 233,860 at the time of the 2022 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal borough</span> Former type of British and Irish local government

A municipal borough was a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in Scotland from 1833 to 1975 with the reform of royal burghs and creation of police burghs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galway City Council</span> Local authority for Galway City, Ireland

Galway City Council is the local authority in the city of Galway, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 18 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of mayor. The city administration is headed by a Chief Executive, Patricia Philbin. The council meets at City Hall, College Road, Galway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local electoral area</span> District of local elections in the Republic of Ireland

A local electoral area is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average population of 28,700 and average area of 423.3 square kilometres (163.4 sq mi). The boundaries of LEAs are determined by order of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, usually based lower-level units called electoral divisions (EDs), with a total of 3,440 EDs in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local Government Act 2001</span> Legislation restructuring local government in Ireland

The Local Government Act 2001 was enacted by the Oireachtas on 21 July 2001 to reform local government in the Republic of Ireland. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002. The act was a restatement and amendment of previous legislation, which was centred on the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. The 2001 act remains in force, although significantly amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014.

Town commissioners were elected local government bodies that existed in urban areas in Ireland from the 19th century until 2002. Larger towns with commissioners were converted to urban districts by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, with the smaller commissions continuing to exist beyond partition in 1922. The idea was a standardisation of the improvement commissioners established in an ad-hoc manner for particular towns in Britain and Ireland in the eighteenth century. The last town commissioners in Northern Ireland were abolished in 1962. In the Republic of Ireland, the remaining commissions became town councils in 2002, and abolished in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Tipperary County Council</span> Former local authority for the county of North Tipperary in Ireland (1898–2014)

North Tipperary County Council was the local authority of the county of North Tipperary, Ireland, from 1899 to 2014. The head of the council had the title of Mayor. The county town was Nenagh.

The Chief Executive of a city or county is the senior permanent official in local government in the Republic of Ireland. Whereas the county council and city council are elected officials who formulate policy, the chief executive is an appointed official who manages the implementation of policy. The position was introduced in 1929–42 based on the American council–manager government model, and until 2014 the chief executive was styled the county manager or city manager. Their salaries range from €132,511 to €189,301 per annum. The County and City Management Association is the professional association for chief executives, and it is affiliated to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council</span> Local authority Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in Ireland

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that succeeded the former Dublin County Council on its abolition on 1 January 1994 and one of four councils in the old County Dublin. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 40 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of Cathaoirleach (chairperson). The county administration is headed by a Chief Executive, Frank Curran. The county town is Dún Laoghaire. It serves a population of approximately 206,260.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fingal County Council</span> Local authority for Fingal in Ireland

Fingal County Council is the local authority of the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that succeeded the former Dublin County Council on abolition on 1 January 1994 and is one of four local authorities in County Dublin. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transport, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 40 elected members. Elections are held every five years on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). The head of the council has the title of Mayor. The county administration is headed by a Chief Executive, AnnMarie Farrelly. The county town is Swords.

In Ireland, the term city has somewhat differing meanings in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tipperary County Council</span> Local government authority for county of Tipperary in Ireland

Tipperary County Council is the authority responsible for local government in County Tipperary, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 40 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of Cathaoirleach (chairperson). The county administration is headed by a Chief Executive, Joe MacGrath. The administrative centres are Nenagh and Clonmel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local Government Reform Act 2014</span> Law amending the structures of local government in Ireland

The Local Government Reform Act 2014 is an act of the Oireachtas which provided for a major restructuring of local government in Ireland with effect from the 2014 local elections. It merged some first-tier county and city councils, abolished all second-tier town and borough councils, and created a new second tier of municipal districts covering rural as well as urban areas. It also provided for a plebiscite on whether to create a directly elected executive Mayor of the Dublin Metropolitan Area although this provision was not activated. The act was introduced as a bill on 15 October 2013 by Phil Hogan, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, and signed into law on 27 January 2014 by President Michael D. Higgins. Most of its provisions came into force on 1 June 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limerick City and County Council</span> Local government authority for Limerick city and county in Ireland

Limerick City and County Council is the authority responsible for local government in County Limerick in Ireland. It came into operation on 1 June 2014 after the 2014 local elections. It was formed by the merger of Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council under the provisions of the Local Government Reform Act 2014. As a city and county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 40 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of Mayor. The city and county administration is headed by a Chief Executive, Pat Daly. The administrative centre is City Hall, Limerick, with other civic offices at Dooradoyle. Following a plebiscite in 2019, Limerick is due to become the first local authority in Ireland with a directly elected mayor.

The 1960 local elections were held from 23 to 30 June 1960 for the council seats in all counties, cities and towns of the Republic of Ireland. A total of 2,745 candidates stood for 1,454 seats.

Local government in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland, is currently administered through the local authorities of four local government areas. The historical development of these councils dates back to medieval times.

References

  1. "Local Government Administration". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Irish Local Government Management Agency". Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  3. "Local Government Administration". Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  4. "Irish Local Government Management Agency 2012 Board Membership". Archived from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  5. Local Government Act 1991 (Regional Assemblies) (Establishment) Order 2014 ( S.I. No. 573 of 2014 ), "5. (1) A regional assembly specified in column (3) of Schedule 1 shall consist of the number of members specified in column (4) of that Schedule opposite the mention in the said column (3) of that regional assembly.". Signed on 16 December 2014. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland .Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 5 March 2022.
  6. Local Government Act 2019, s. 1 ( No. 1 of 2019, s. 1 ). Enacted on 25 January 2019. Act of the Oireachtas .Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 2 March 2019.
  7. Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 ( c. 37 of 1898 ). Enacted on 12 August 1898. Act of the UK Parliament .Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 4 March 2021.
  8. Telford, Lynsey (16 October 2012). "'Long overdue' reform of local Government to save €420m". Irish Independent . Archived from the original on 18 November 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  9. "Phil Hogan says local government reform will save €420m". RTÉ News. 16 October 2012. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  10. Carroll, Steven (16 October 2012). "Local authority plan 'to save €420m'". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  11. "Putting People First" (PDF). Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. October 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  12. "Result of the Direct Election of Mayor Plebiscite for Limerick City and County". Limerick City and County Council. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  13. "Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023". Oireachtas. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  14. "Minister O'Donnell Welcomes Publication of the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill" (Press release). Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 3 August 2023.
  15. "City and County councils will merge by 2021". GalwayDaily.com. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  16. "Council merger is now off the table". Connacht Tribune. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  17. "FP003 Preliminary Population 2022 & FP005 Components of Population Change 2016 to 2022". 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  18. Local Government Reform Act 2014 , s. 15: Number of members of local authorities ( No. 1 of 2014, s. 15 ). Enacted on 27 January 2014. Act of the Oireachtas .Retrieved from Irish Statute Book .
  19. "Information Note for Data Users: revision to the Irish NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 Regions". Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  20. "LOCAL ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS (LAU)". Eurostat. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  21. "Local Government Finance". Archived from the original on 14 June 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  22. Local Government Management Agency (Establishment) Order 2012 ( S.I. No. 290 of 2012 ). Signed on 26 July 2012. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland .Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 4 March 2021.
  23. "What we do". Local Government Management Agency. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  24. Water Services Act 2013, s. 26 ( No. 6 of 2013, s. 26 ). Enacted on 20 March 2013. Act of the Oireachtas .Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 4 March 2021.
  25. Local Government Act 1998 ( No. 16 of 1998 ). Enacted on 29 May 1998. Act of the Oireachtas .Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 4 March 2021.
  26. "County Manager David O'Connor's quotation – Fingal County Council". Archived from the original on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.

Bibliography