AN EXTENSION of charges to national roads, extra levies on those who do not pay their motor tax online and a major reduction in the number of city and county managers, are among a series of proposals aimed at saving over €500 million in the State’s 34 local authorities.
The measures, contained in a report by the Local Government Efficiency Review Group, and approved by the Cabinet at its meeting in Farmleigh on Wednesday, will be published today.
The group is informally called An Bord Snip Eile and is chaired by Pat McLoughlin, the former Health Service Executive (HSE) deputy chief executive and now chief executive of the Irish Payment Services Organisation. In all, it has made 106 recommendations totalling €511 million in efficiencies.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley, who commissioned the report, is expected to begin implementing some of its recommendations almost immediately. While no reduction in number is envisaged for the 29 county councils and the five city councils, the group recommends far-reaching changes in organisational structures.
In an effort to reduce payroll costs, it argues for the reduction in the number of city and county managers from 34 to 24; directors of service from 240 to 190; and the number of senior and middle managers by at least 15 per cent. This change would in effect mean that some local authority managers would be in charge of two councils.
The group has also recommended that tolling charges be extended from motorways to national roads. It has argued this would be consistent with Government policy on the environment by incentivising road users to use other transport. It would also allow a stream of revenue for local councils to invest in local roads.
While the group has said the distribution of the tolling booths should be equitable, placing them on national roads as well as motorways would be seen as controversial and politically unpopular. The report has also suggested that a handling fee be introduced for processing motor tax payments that are made in person or by post rather than online. This, the report concluded, would recognise the much higher staff costs of manual processing.
It has also called for an end to the “off-the-road” facility in respect of motor tax, which allows car owners to self-declare vehicles as not in use.
The group found the number of senior managers in Dublin and Cork cities was noticeably high compared to other local authority areas.
It suggests a review be carried out over six months to examine how the numbers at these grades in both cities could be reduced by 15 per cent. The group also advocates a raft of shared services, including fire services; homelessness services; motor tax and technical support.
Several other revenue-raising possibilities are proposed including increases in planning costs. The efficiency group, first mentioned in last December’s budget, was set up shortly afterwards by Mr Gormley.
The other members were Donal McNally, second secretary general of the Department of Finance; John O’Hagan, professor of economics at TCD; former county manager John Quinlivan; Ian Talbot, chief executive of Chambers Ireland and Geraldine Tallon, secretary general of the Department of the Environment.