Gormley announces local government reform programme

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley TD has announced a programme that will lead towards one of the largest reforms ever to occur in how local government works in Ireland.

The programme - which will lead to a directly elected mayor with real powers for Dublin in 2011 - aims to reconnect town, city and county councils with the local people and local communities they serve.

The reform programme will begin with a request for submissions from the general public and interested bodies, which will feed into a Green Paper on local government reform, to be published in the next six months. The Green Paper will outline the various reform options to be considered on how local authorities operate.

The Minister proposes to establish a consultative committee - drawing on expertise in local government from councillors, managers, academics and other interested bodies - to advise on the Green paper. However, the most important element of the consultation process is to hear from individuals and community groups with their input on how local government can be improved.

Key areas the Green Paper will address include -

* How a directly elected Mayor will operate in Dublin, what powers will the office have and what areas will it be responsible for;
* Should there be directly elected Mayors for other towns or counties in the country?
* Should there be a rebalancing of powers between elected councillors and local authority managers and officials?
* Should new town councils be established for the new large communities that have been built up in the last decade?

Advertisements seeking submissions from the general public will appear in the local and national press in the coming weeks and months.

Announcing the start of the consultation process, Minister Gormley said it was important - "to build maximum consensus" - on the local government reform programme.

"The Green Paper will mark a start to the reform process. It will set out options for change. I hope, in turn, that the Green Paper sparks national debate on local government reform. It is my intention to intensify the consultation with interested groups, political parties and the general public, following on the publication of the Green Paper by year-end. I wish to achieve as much consensus as possible on the reform agenda before finalising my proposals in a White Paper next year.

"I will also be asking the general public for their input. Local councils have traditionally provided the public with key basic services - from roads and water, to housing and waste management. Their role has expanded in recent years to cover a huge range of functions to proactively build communities, promote tourism, drive economic development and pursue social inclusion.

"I want to hear from the citizen - the customer of the local council - on how they think the local government service can be improved.

"The Programme for Government contains an absolute commitment to introduce a directly elected mayor for Dublin by 2011. Dublin's profile as a leading European and World City has never been so high - yet, we all know that it faces many challenges in pursuing the goal of becoming a truly sustainable city.

"A city of Dublin's status needs a Mayor who can act as the voice of the city. That can best be achieved by a directly elected Mayor - with real powers - and with the certainty of a reasonable term in office" - stated Minister Gormley.