FIANNA FÁIL proposals for the abolition of up to 60 town councils which serve populations of fewer than 17,000 were sharply criticised by councillors and the Opposition yesterday.
The proposals, part of Fianna Fáil’s submission to the Government’s White Paper on local authority reform, also envisage the introduction of local taxes and charges for a range of services, including local libraries.
The submission recommends the work of smaller town councils, including the setting of commercial rates, be transferred to the local area committees of county and city councils. These committees would then sit as a new tier of local government described as “town and district” councils.
Fianna Fáil said the “sub-county tier” was “ineffective, lacks focus and is not delivering for the citizen”. It said many town councils had “neither the population nor the financing” to be effective.
However, the Fianna Fáil submission was described as “outrageous” and “anti-democratic” by councillors at the annual conference of the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland in Buncrana, Co Donegal.
Members of town councils accused Fianna Fáil of reiterating cuts proposed by economist Colm McCarthy or the Local Government Efficiency Review Group.
President of the association, Cllr Frank Geelan of Boyle Town Council, said “it is the tier of politicians closest to the people which is being set up to be sacrificed”. He said the proposals would abolish up to 60 local authorities and result in 600 fewer councillors.
Fine Gael environment spokesman Phil Hogan criticised Fianna Fáil’s proposals saying local government was “in limbo” as it lacked a “strong primary mission”. He said the “principle of subsidiarity” should apply, in that local decisions should be made as much as possible by the local community.
Labour Party spokesman on the environment Ciarán Lynch told the conference: “If we have learned anything in the last few years it is that doing away with democratically-mandated, local organisations to make way for unaccountable super-bureaucracies is a recipe for disaster.”
Fianna Fáil proposed that county and city councils should remain, as should borough councils in Drogheda, Kilkenny, Sligo, Wexford and Clonmel.