Local Government System in Ireland

Former Custom House, Dublin, Seat of the Ministry for Environment, Community and Local Government.

2012

Ireland: Basic Facts• Population: 4.6 million• Capital: Dublin / Baile Átha Cliath (1.2 million)• Surface Area: 70,208 km2• Population Density: 65 person / km2• GDP / Capita: €29,959• Public Finance Deficit: 90%+ of GDP• Currency: Euro• Main Exports: PharmaChem, ICT & Software, Food

Products.• Language: Irish (official) English (most widely spoken)

Since the partition of the island in 1921, Ireland (Éire) shares a border with Northern Ireland (UK).

The Belfast / Good Friday Agreement of 1998 has been endorsed by the peoples of both jurisdictions. This guarantees the current constitutional status of Northern Ireland and has established a devolved administration for Northern Ireland and north – south collaborative bodies.

Context: Political

• Declaration of Independence, 1919.• Secured Status of ‘Free State,’ 1922.• Current Constitution, 1937 - • Formally Declared a Republic, 1949.• Joined EU, 1973.

The flag of Ireland / Éire is green white and orange.Green represents Nationalism.Orange represents Unionism.White represents peace between both political traditions.The flag is modelled on the French tricolour.

Context: Institutional• Constitutional Status: Parliamentary Republic.• Head of State: President (7 year term).• Parliament: Bicameral (max. term of 5 years):

– Upper House elected by sectoral interests– Lower House universal franchise

• Centralised State – limited local self-government.

Áras an Uachtaráin, Official Residence of the PresidentInterior of Dáil Éireann, Lower House of the Irish Parliament (Oireachtas Éireann).

Local Government – Historical Evolution

• 1889: Local Government Structures Established.• 1994: Regional Tier Established.• 1998: Ireland signs European Charter on Local Self-

Government.• 1999: Official Constitutional Recognition of Local Tier

of Government• 2001: New Planning Competencies• Current reform agenda.

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– Fourth level» Fifth level

Ireland – Territorial System: Counties

Strongest Tier of Local Government.Directly Elected Councillors.

• 27 County Councils.• +3 New Councils (1994) due to

sub-division of Dublin.• 5 City Councils

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Ireland – Territorial System: Regions

Newest Tier of Local GovernmentEU InfluenceComprised of groupings of counties

Main Functions• to promote the co-ordination of public

services at regional level, • to prepare Regional Planning Guidelines and

review regional development needs.• to encourage county and city compliance

with regional priorities.

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– Fourth level» Fifth level

Ireland – Territorial System: Regional Assembly Areas

• Two regional assembly areas:– Objective 1 in transition (2000 –

2006 ) South and East Regional Assembly Area - S & E

– Objective 1 (2000 – 2006) Border, Midlands, West Regional Assembly Area - BMW

– Note: these NUTS 2 regions which are made up of a number of regional authority areas do not constitute regional governments

Main Functions• to promote balanced regional

development• to monitor and co-ordinate spatial

planning

Authority No. Members Mandate Geographical Remit Functional Remit Central Government Interface

Regional Assembly

26 appointed by City and Council Councils

5 years BMW (Border, Midland and Western) Region, 13 Counties qualifying for Objective I status to 2006S&E (Southern and Eastern) Region- non Objective I.

Monitoring of Regional Programmes under the National Development Plan

Dept. of Finance and DoECLG

Regional Authority

appointed by City and Council Councils

5 years 3 to 5 local authority areas (combined City and County Council areas).

Formulation and monitoring of regional planning guidelines and overseeing aspects of National Spatial Strategy

DoECLG

County Council

Typically 25, elected.Range from 21 to 48

5 years Full County, including areas covered by Town Councils.

Local Service ProvisionSpatial Planning

DoECLG

City Council Cork 31, Dublin 52,Galway 15, Limerick 17Waterford 15. All elected councillors

5 years Within City Boundaries only.Problem has arisen of areas being under-bounded, most notably Limerick, and Waterford. These cities, and Galway applied to government for boundary extensions.

Local Service ProvisionSpatial Planning

DoECLG

Town Council

9 elected councillors, with the exceptions of Bray, Dundalk and Tralee, with 12 councillors

5 years Within Town Boundaries only. Urban sprawl in many towns has meant that many town councils have no jurisdiction in their suburbs/ urban fringe.

Local Service ProvisionSpatial Planning

DoECLG

SPCs (Strategic Policy Committees)

Range from 10 to 20, with a majority made up of elected councillors, and the others drawn from statutory bodies, social partners, local dev. and civil society.

Begin c. One month after election of Local Authority

Same as its Parent (City / County) Council.

One of: Planning and Economic Development, Environmental Protection and Waste Management, Arts and Culture, Housing, Infrastructure (or other priority areas as defined by the Council)

DoECLG

City / County Development Boards

Range from 25 to 35, with broadly similar numbers from local government, statutory bodies, social partners, local development and civil society

As above Council Boundaries. Community and Enterprise Development

Co-Ordination and Monitoring of agency-inputs into, and delivery of an agreed, multi-sectoral strategy for the council area.

Various

DoECLG = Department (i.e. Ministry) of Environment, Community and Local Government

Key Legislative Framework1898 Local Gov. (Ireland) Act

1925 Local Government Act

1963Planning Act

1982 / 83 / 92 Planning Acts

1991 / 93 / 94 Local Government Acts

1997 European Charter for Local Self-Government

1999Constitutional Recognition (Article 28A)

2000Planning and Dev. Act (amended 2002)

2001Local Government Act

2010Planning and Development Act (amended)

Source: Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. www.environ.ie

Electoral Geography at County Level

• For electoral purposes, Counties are sub-divided into 3 – 8 districts (depending on demographics). These are known as ‘Electoral Areas.’

• Citizens in each ‘Electoral Area’ elect 3 – 8 councillors, who then form the County / City Council.

The following maps (next slides) illustrate the Electoral Areas in Limerick County (pop. 130,000) and Limerick City (pop. 60,000).

All EU citizens resident in Ireland may vote in local elections.

There are 28 members on the Council - 7 members in the Bruff and Castelconnell Electoral Areas, 5 members in the Newcastle and Rathkeale Electoral Areas and 4 members in the Kilmallock Electoral Area.

Council Meetings are normally held on the fourth Monday of each month(except August when there is no meeting) in the Council Chamber at County Hall. )

Election of Members to Limerick County Council

www.LimerickCoCo.ie

Local Electoral Areas in Limerick City

www.LimerickCity.ie

6 Members (Limerick North)

4 Members (Limerick East)

7 Members (Limerick South)

Structure of Local Authorities

Cathaoirleach / Mayor (1 year term)

Elected Members(5 year term)

County / City Manager

Directors of Services x 6 – 8

Officials

Citizens

directlyelect

elect

Reserved Functions Executive Functions

Local Government: Functions

• The principal services provided by the local authorities comprise:

– Housing and building– Road transportation and safety– Water supply and sewerage– Planning– Environmental protection– Recreation and amenities, and – to a very limited extent agriculture, education, health

and welfare.

• Local authorities have no role in policing, public transport or personal social services.

Functional Remit Housing and Building

Provision, Enforcement, Traveler Acc., Social

Road Transportation & SafetyConstruction, Improvement, Maintenance, Lighting,Traffic Management, Taxation, Licensing, Signage.

Water Supply and SeweragePublic & Group Schemes, Public Toilets

Development Incentives and ControlPhysical Planning Policy, Building – where and how,Industrial Promotion, Urban / Village Renewal

Environmental Protectionwaste management, burial grounds, safety of structures,fire prevention, pollution and litter control

Recreation & AmenityPools, Libraries, Parks, Art galleries, Museums,Monuments (some)

Agriculture, Education, Health, WelfareVECs, Third Level Grants (used to appoint to Health Boards)

Miscellaneous ServicesRate Collection, Elections, Coroners & Inquests,Consumer Protection, Abattoirs, Dog Control.

Functions Taken from Local Authorities

Health (Boards) since 2003School AttendanceCounty Committee for AgricultureNational Roads’ Projects

Rates on commercial and industrial buildings Income from goods and services (Housing Rents,

planning fees etc.) Exchequer grants Internal capital grants (sale of houses and land) Borrowing

Sources of Finance

Country Pop. Number of relevant local councils

Average population per council

Average size of council

Population per elected councillor

France 59.6 million

36,700 1,600 14 118

Austria 8.2 million

2,350 3,500 17 209

Sweden 8.8 million

310 28,400 111* 256

Germany 83 million 15,300 5,400 15 350

Finland 5.2 million

452 11,500 28 410

Italy 57.7 million

8,100 7,100 12 608

Spain 40 million 8,100 4,900 8 610

Belgium 10.3 million

589 17,500 22 811

Greece 10.6 million

1033 10,300 10 1,075

Denmark 5.4 million

275 19,600 17 1,115

Portugal 10.1 million

308 32,800 29 1,131

Netherlands 16 million 548 29,000 19 1,555

Ireland 3.8 million

118 33,000 14 2,336

United Kingdom

59.6 million

468 127,350 49 2,603

Council, Councillor & Citizen Relationships in Selected EU States

Examples of EU Legislation bearing on Local Government

Urban Waste Water DirectiveLandfill DirectivePublic Procurement DirectivesWorking Time DirectiveEnvironmental Impact Assessment DirectivesWater Framework Directive

Health and Safety LegislationRecycling TargetsHabitats’ Directive

©2008 Marble Arch Caves Global Leopard

EU Funding

Structural and Cohesion Funds

ERDF and ESF

Culture of Monitoring and EvaluationBetter PlanningProject Delivery

EU-Led Institutional Reforms

Environmental Protection AgencyRegional AuthoritiesRegional AssembliesLocal Development Initiatives

Extract from 2010 Green Paper on Local Government Reform

Loca l E lections 2009

F ianna Fa il

F ine G ae l

Labour

G reen P arty

S inn Fe in

O ther

100 100 100

Local Elections 2009 Results

Percentage of the First Preference Vote obtained by Parties in each County

Fine Gael (Christian Democrats) is the dominant political party in Irish Local Government.

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Women are grossly under-represented in Local Council Chambers.

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Irish Local Government in Context

Limited tradition of Local Self Government High degree of centralisation and Control by Central

Government Large local authorities (av. Pop 36,100) Single Tier – with fledgling regional tier Limited Functions and Competencies Inflexible County Delineations and Structures. Anticipated Reforms in Planning and Directly Elected

Mayors. Property Tax / Service Charge being introduced. Possible reforms to create sub-county structures.

Institutional Framework of Irish Local Government System

Domiciliary Irish and EU Citizens (aged 18 years and over)

Citizens in Urban Areas (excl. City Council Areas) All Citizens

29 County Councilswith between 21 and 48 members*

5 City Councils (Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway)

with between 15 and 52 members

Council Mayor(formerly known as

Cathaoirleach)

* Most County Councils have between 23 and 28 members. Co. Cork, the largest county in Ireland has 48. The second largest council is Clare, with 32 members.

5 Borough Councilseach with 12 members

Mayor

75 Town Councilsmost with 9 memberseach

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26 member Regional AssembliesFor 2 ‘super regions’

9 Regional Authorities

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Appoint Nominees to

Vocational Education CommitteesHarbour CommissionersRegional Tourism AuthoritiesCity and County Enterprise BoardsLEADER and Urban Partnerships

National-level Bodies

Civil Society

Strategic PolicyCommittees

City / CountyDev. Boards

Arts’ CouncilAn Bórd Pleanala (Planning Appeals)An Comhairle Leabharlanna (Libraries’ Board)Environmental Protection AgencyFire Services’ CouncilHousing Finance AgencyLocal Government Services’ BoardsNational Building AgencyNational Roads Authority

Local-level Bodies

Mayor

Childcare Committees