Ireland does not have too many politicians, but too few councillors

A Leavy says that Ireland “has more politicians, relative to its population, than comparable countries” (Irish Examiner, Letters, March 22). Why is this canard repeated ad nauseam?

It is true that European countries of a similar size to Ireland have fewer national politicians than we do, but this is because they have vast, powerful, and well-funded systems of local government, which we do not.

Denmark, for example, has 98 local authorities and 2,500 local councillors. Finland has 304 local authorities and 10,000 local councillors. And Norway has 423 local authorities and 12,000 local councillors. Ireland, in stark contrast, has 32 local authorities and 950 councillors.

In these Scandanavian countries, national parliaments were gradually reduced in size, in line with increases in the size and power of local government. In Ireland, however, all levels of government were slashed simultaneously in 2014, with the abolition of six Dáil seats, all town councils, and 700 council seats.

Far from having more politicians than comparable countries, this has left Ireland one of the most under-represented democracies in the western world.

This has resulted in more power being concentrated in the hands of a smaller number of people, namely the government of the day. The reprehensible proposal to abolish the Seanad, which was defeated at the ballot box, would only have exacerbated this problem even further.

Barry Walsh

Brooklawn

Clontarf

Dublin 3