Paul Neilan

The local government system in the county will be changed utterly come their next elections.

Today, Minister Phil Hogan proposed that all 80 town councils around the country be abolished and that county councillors take the role at a district level.

The 2014 local government election will be the end of the town council system in what Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore described "the biggest [electoral] reform since the 19th century".

Under the plan the town councils will be joined with their county councils, which in turn will have its members act as district councillors.

Cavan will be among what the Irish Independent's political editor Fionnan Sheahan described as the biggest "losers", as the number of people per councillor is increased to around 5,000.

It is understood the county will be split into three main districts and will have 18 councillors - six operating in each.

As it stands there are 25 county councillors in addition to the three town councils of Belturbet, Cavan and Cootehill - some of whose members are also county councillors.

Each of the town councils have nine members but all with urban populations under the 5,000 mark.

Cavan Town councillor Paddy Reilly says it's a "hatchet job" on local government.

"It's a blow to local democracy to have them all abolished," said Reilly, first a councillor in 1974.

"We raise roughly five million in the town ourselves, with rates, planning applications and so on but, most importantly, we spend it in the town. Under the new structures there is no guarantee of that happening at all.

"It's a real hatchet job on local democracy.

"I would have retained the bigger towns, the county towns, we just recently celebrated 400 years of Cavan Town Council! But we spend that money on street cleaning, public lighting, local housing. And if it is a money-saving exercise we get €5,000 per annum, which after tax works out at around 70 cent a day, it's not a lot."

The move is part of a reforming package that will reduce the amount of councillors nationwide from around 1600 down to 950 and will see 500 redundancies in the public sector. The programme also aims to save €45 million a year and hinder councillors from overturning planning decisions.

Monaghan is also listed as one of the biggest losers, it possessing five town councils in Ballybay, Clones, Castleblayney, Carrickmacross and Monaghan Town.