Town councils due to be re-established

Fianna Fáil's spokesperson on local government, Paul McAuliffe, has welcomed the proposal, saying that it was important government backbenchers pressed for it in the weeks and months ahead. Picture: Leah Farrell

The incoming coalition is expected to re-establish town councils across the country, as the programme for government commits to a new taskforce for local democracy.

Commitments within the programme for government set out that the new coalition will look to establish town councils, on a regional and phased basis, within larger towns.

A total of 80 town councils were abolished in 2014, which cut the number of councillors around the country by over 40%.

Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on local government, Paul McAuliffe, has welcomed the proposal, saying that it was important government backbenchers pressed for it in the weeks and months ahead.

“We should be devolving responsibility and decision making down to a more local level, and this is a good example of it being done,” he said.

The document is also pressing for more input from councillors in local authority budgeting, as well as rebalancing power between elected representatives and council executives.

It promises that the new taskforce would examine increasing accountability for council executives.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin is to receive independent legal advice over plans by the Regional Independent Group to sit on the opposition benches despite their support for the new government.

There were arguments in Leinster House on Thursday after a proposal from the Regional Independents was tabled where they sought to retain a technical group for opposition speaking time.

The proposal would mean that members of the Regional Independents, who are supporting the government, would still be able to ask questions of the new coalition in key slots, such as Leaders’ Questions.

Five of the current Regional Group — Seán Canney, Noel Grealish, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, Marian Harkin and Michael Healy-Rae — are due to serve in government and will resign from the technical group.

There has been widespread criticism of the proposal, with Sinn Féin strongly criticising the independent group.

Mairead Farrell, Sinn Féin TD for Galway West, described it as the Regional Independents "trying to have it both ways" by being in Government with ministerial roles while still keeping opposition speaking times. 

“Not only do these so-called independents want the trappings of power, they also want to take away the limited resources afforded to the opposition," a Sinn Féin spokesperson said.

There have been calls for new Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy – who was a member of the Regional Independents – to intervene.

This would see Dáil standing orders changed to allow technical groups sit as part of the government, which is currently not permitted.