Small towns urged to fight for right to have own elected councils

SMALL towns around the country have been urged to fight to ensure size doesn't matter when it comes to having locally elected town councils.

The Fine Gael leader on Limerick County Council, Newcastle West-based Patrick O'Donovan, has tabled a motion for the next meeting of Limerick County Council asking the Minister for Environment to amend the 2001 Local Government Act. It states a town must have a population of 7,500 or more before it can apply to have its own local elected council.

"I am calling for the deletion of all references to population in Section 185 of the Act and instead allow the minister to make decisions on the establishment of new town councils on a case-by-case basis," Mr O'Donovan said.