Elaine Loughlin: Without radical reform, local government will remain toothless and useless

Our strange centralised system of government is hindering progress on a range of issues from housing to climate change

ALL politics is local, but in Ireland it’s not local enough.

While the parish pump is still firmly in operation at both local and national level, when it comes to actual power, we operate a “hyper centralised” system, which stymies local government and is out of step with our international neighbours.