Opposition give a guarded welcome to Taoiseach's pledge to restore local councils

'There’s no point restoring them if they don’t have powers and resources': Sinn Féin and Social Democrats respond to Micheál Martin's interview in the 'Irish Examiner'

Sinn Féin Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould said councils should be restored before the next local elections in 2029. File picture: Brian Lawless/PA 

Any restoration of town councils  across the country must ensure that local councillors are provided with adequate powers, opposition TDs have said. 

Both Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats have cautiously welcomed the Taoiseach saying he intends to restore town councils in the next three to four years.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Martin said: “I certainly think we can re-establish a number of councils or create new ones, because the population is changing.”

As part of austerity-era cuts, 80 town councils were abolished across the country.

Broad welcome

While Mr Martin’s push for their re-establishment has been broadly welcomed by the opposition, there have been calls to ensure that any new councils that are established have actual powers to effect change in local areas.

Sinn Féin’s local government spokesman, Thomas Gould, said his party had opposed town councils’ abolition in 2014

However, Mr Gould said he is “sceptical” of the timeline set out by the Taoiseach and questioned if it would be possible to reintroduce them in the next three years.

The Cork North Central TD said the ideal timeline for them to be restored would be before the next set of local elections, which is due to take place in June 2029. 

Mr Gould said: "It’s very important that they be resourced and they’re given the ability to deliver for their communities." 

He questioned if the “will was really there” within Government to empower new councils to make decisions.

“You can’t just have bureaucrats making decisions up in Dublin,” he added.

Social Democrats Dublin North West TD Rory Hearne said there is 'real demand' for a return to local councils delivering public services for their communities. File picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Rory Hearne, housing spokesman for the Social Democrats, said the announcement by the Taoiseach needed to be properly studied. He said: 

There’s no point restoring them if they don’t have powers and resources. 

He said there is a “real demand” for a return to local councils delivering public services for their local communities, while saying a new system of town councils could “give a focus to the revitalisation of towns”.

He said this could be done through dealing with issues of dereliction and vacancy.

Mr Martin said he is “clear” on the benefits of local town councils, adding it is his “hope” they would be restored in three to four years.

“I can recall when I went down to the floods in Midleton, not this year but the previous flood a couple of years ago, people were really lamenting the lack of an urban council and a base there that could have been the first point of response to the floods,” he said.

Mr Martin also hit out at civil servants who sometimes see town councils as just “another irritant”.

"[That] annoys me at times," he said. 

Democracy matters and it’s also an opportunity for people to have their first taste of representation. But above all, it’s about community.

Mr Martin’s announcement comes after the Government established its new local democracy taskforce in June.

The taskforce is due to examine whether more decision making powers should be devolved to councillors, as well as if there is a need to rebalance powers from local authority executives to elected representatives.

It is also looking at whether or not to provide greater powers to councillors over the development and implementation of local authority budgets.