Dr. Patrick Collins, Department of Geography, NUIG and Aisling Murtagh, The Whitaker Institiute, NUIG It has been termed the most fundamental overhaul of local government in the last 100 years, but will the proposed regional restructuring as laid out by Minister Phil Hogan bring about a change in the entrenched thinking of Irish planning, regardless…
Dr. Clodagh Harris, Department of Government, UCC The Action programme for Effective Local Government ‘Putting People First’ (2012) proposes the creation of new municipal districts with local policy/regulatory roles. It also refers to increasing citizen engagement with reference to new forms of public engagement (p.159) such as Participatory Budgeting (PB).
Dr. Cormac Walsh, University of Hamburg, Institute for Geography The reform of regional governance boundaries announced by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in October 2012 will have potentially far-reaching implications for the Dublin city-region and its wider rural hinterland. Putting People First postpones a decision on the reorganisation of local authority…
Dr Proinnsias Breathnach, NUI Maynooth Chris van Egeraat and Seán Ó Ríordáin have made far too much of the Local Government Bill, which is a very weak and ineffectual piece of legislation derived, in turn, from the foregoing Action Programme for Effective Local Government, an appallingly inept document which goes nowhere near doing what it…
Dr. Deiric Ó Broin, NorDubCo I present the third opinion piece in context of the debate on Local Government Reform, organised by the Regional Studies Association – Irish Branch. The package of proposals contained in the Local Government Bill, 2013, the Report of the Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee and the Final Report of the…
Brendan O’Keeffe (Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick) A reformed local government system in Ireland has a key role to play in promoting territorial development and competitiveness. Earlier this year, Ireland’s LEADER Partnerships undertook extensive and in-depth consultation with citizens in several counties. As a result, and following liaison with the European Commission, OECD and…
Post by Chris van Egeraat (NUI, Maynooth) and Seán Ó Riordáin The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government launched his reform proposals to generally underwhelming degrees of debate on the 12th October 2012 and a year later the Oireachtas is considering these reforms with the Local Government Bill 2013. (See here)
David Farrell (February 20, 2011) Early in the campaign I happened on a radio story in which the intrepid reporter was following a sitting TD on his election canvass. Everywhere the politician went he met with a positive reaction from his constituents. The basis of the whole story was that this was a politician in…
Guest post by Johnny Fallon (loaded by David Farrell, February 8 2011) With the reform debate now all thrashed out by the parties I don’t think any of them has hit the spot for me. But rather than sit on the fence I will, as usual, pop my head up for some abuse. If I…
Irish Politics Forum 