Irish Local Government Reform - Regional Dimension taking shape
Described as ‘the most far reaching transformation of local government in the past century’ when it was announced by Commissioner Phil Hogan i, the then Minister responsible for the Environment and Local Government, the final elements of the local government reform package are starting to fall into place with the establishment of 3 new Regional Assemblies. From January 1, these Regional Assemblies will assume responsibility for: (a) some planning matters and in particular the preparation of new Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies; (b) reviewing the performance of local authorities; and (c) the management of ERDF operational programmes and developing EU funded projects.
These regions replace the 8 Regional Authorities and 2 Regional Assemblies. The Regional Authorities were abolished in May, while the Regional Assemblies have been managing arrangements for the transfer to the new regional structures.
These changes come on top of a series of reforms that have been implemented over the last six months, following the coming into force of the Local Government Reform Act 2014. The most significant changes have seen a reduction in the number of local authorities from 114 to 31 and the number of elected members from over 1,600 to 949. This has brought the abolition of the 80 town councils, as well as the merging of some local authorities. At the same time, 95 municipal districts have been established within the local authorities, except in the cities of Dublin, Cork and Galway, and while these municipal districts do not have a corporate structure they will decide on a range of matters close to the community on a fully devolved basis.
The reforms at local level place a greater emphasis on local economic development and enterprise support. The former County Enterprise Boards have been replaced by Local Enterprise Offices, which will now be part of the local authority and provide direct support services to entrepreneurs and micro enterprises. Also, within all authorities, there will be a Strategic Policy Committee for Economic Development, as well as Local Community Development Committees which will be composed of elected members and representatives of statutory and local bodies to better develop, coordinate and implement coherent approaches to local and community development in their areas, including the LEADER programme in rural communities.
Following the local elections in May, many of these structures are now established and beginning their work to develop their Local Economic and Community Plans. Finally, a new addition to the work of local government is the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC), established to scrutinise local government performance, not least in the areas where it has a new focus, such as community and local economic development.