Cork local government review may not have time to do its work

A review group set up to examine local government reform in Cork and whether Cork city should get a boundary extension may not have

time to carry out its work properly because of the terms of reference set by the Government, a leading expert has warned.

Dr Aodh Quinlivan, who lectures in politics in UCC's Department of Government, said the task set for the Smiddy Review Group to examine local government reform in Cork might require more time than the September deadline set by Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly.

Last month, Mr Kelly appointed the former managing director of Beamish & Crawford, Alf Smiddy to chair an independent review group to look at local government reform in Cork, including whether the city should get a boundary extension and whether Cork city and county councils should be merged.

The group also includes Emeritus professor of history at UCC Dermot Keogh, senior counsel John Lucey, UCC lecturer in politics, Dr Theresa Reidy and former Kerry county manager Tom Curran. It will report back to the Minister within nine months.

‘Big body of work

’ However Dr Quinlivan has questioned the feasibility of carrying out such a detailed review, including the financial implications of both options and the likely benefits and costs associated with each proposal, within this time frame.

"First and foremost, the group has a big body of work to do, especially on the merger question. This needs detailed research work because intuition and assumptions about efficiencies and economies of scale will not cut it," he he told a breakfast briefing organised by Cork City Council.

“The outcome of this process could have major ramifications for Cork’s future and we all want to see a vibrant city centre, a thriving county, effective public services, a prosperous airport and satisfied citizens. I am not convinced that the group has enough time to fulfil its terms of reference in a comprehensive way. The details are important because otherwise we end up muddling through.”

Dr Quinlivan said the review group had "a huge amount of ground to cover" in particular when asked to take account of the experiences to date of mergers in Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford and he did not "envy them the journey ahead".

“Of course, some of the work may be done by Custom House officials (Department of the Environment) which is a concern in itself given that they probably already have fixed recommendations in mind.

“It would be naive of anybody to think the Custom House does not have an agenda and it would equally be stupid of us not to be wary of that agenda . . . do not believe for a second that there is not a civil service plan and it can be summarised in three words: centralise, centralise, centralise.”

He said international research tended to show larger local authorities were associated with higher spending per capita than smaller local units and citizen satisfaction with local services tended to be higher in smaller local authorities.

Dr Quinlivan also expressed concern about the possible implementation of whatever the review group recommends: the review has been initiated in the last 15 months of the term of the current Government with a general election looming next spring.