Gormley vows to press ahead with changes

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley has said he will establish a group to implement newly made recommendations on local government reform.

Mr Gormley published the report of the Local Government Efficiency Review Group, which he set up last year to examine the cost base, expenditure and employment numbers in local authorities.

The review group made 106 recommendations to streamline local government over a number of years and raise €511m in the process.

It set out three projected timeframes for implementation of its proposals – short-term (to be progressed next year), medium-term (between 2012 and 2013) and long-term (post-2013).

The group was chaired by forming high-ranking civil servant Pat McLoughlin, who was also part of the Bord Snip team which analysed Government spending last year.

Mr Gormley said he would now establish a separate body to begin implementing the recommendations of the review group.

Like those of Bord Snip, however, it is likely the Cabinet will ultimately opt to implement some of the recommendations and ignore others.

Mr Gormley said he and his Cabinet colleagues would “reflect on the wide-ranging menu of options” outlined in the report.

Among the recommendations are for 10 “joint administrative areas” to be formed across 20 city and county councils to “pool corporate functions and other service areas”.

Each of these joint administrative areas would be under the responsibility of a single manager. As a result, the number of city and county managers nationwide would be cut by 10, from 34 to 24.

The group also recommended cutting the number of directors of services from 240 to 190, while senior and middle management ranks would be cut by 15%.

In response, the County and City Managers’ Association immediately pointed out that both staff and expenditure had already been significantly cut in local authorities in recent years.

The association added the winter weather crisis had demonstrated the need for a “critical level of staff to maintain essential services”.

Elsewhere, Fine Gael described the proposal to introduce tolling on national roads as “nonsense”, saying the cost of putting tolls in place “is not an efficient way to collect what is effectively a new tax”. But the party said some of other proposals contained in the report were “interesting” and highlighted the need for reform.

Labour said that while it would take “serious issue” with some of the recommendations, many others had “merit and should be pursued”.