Abolition of town councils should be considered

The abolition of town councils in Ireland, while unpalatable to some (particularly town councillors and executive staff), is something that should be considered in the context of the current economic crisis. And it is a crisis when government revenue is €20bn less than government spending. The proposal was mooted by Colm McCarthy in his An Bord Snip Nua report in which he identified savings of €130m in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The creation of a single tier for local government makes perfect sense and McCarthy has identified the abolition of regional authorities and town councils as the best way to achieve this. It would mean the amalgamation of 34 local authorities in Ireland into 22 county councils - some sources believe this could be implemented as early as next year. Either way, the current system of local government is not ideal. There are three town councils in this county: Cavan town, Cootehill and Belturbet. And while Cavan town is the largest population centre in the county, it seems unfair that Cootehill and Belturbet would warrant a town council simply because there was a tradition of the town commission in those places, while larger towns in the county have no councils. The population in Belturbet in the 2006 Census, for example, was recorded at 1,395. This compares to Bailieboro, 1,966; Kingscourt, 1,748; Virginia, 1,734; and Ballyjamesduff, 1,690. None of those have a town council. Certainly Cavan County Council and Oireachtas members here would be quick to argue that these other Co. Cavan towns have not been disadvantaged in terms of funding and socio-economic development as a result of not having dedicated town councils. Interestingly, town councillors at their recent AMAI conference passed a motion calling on the government to retain town councils. But what else would one expect? The government would experience strong resistance from the grassroots of their own party (largely driving by Fianna Fáil town councillors), but that does not mean, the proposal should not be considered seriously. With the smaller town councils, there would appear to be a lot of duplication in the system and the county council could easily and seamlessly take over the administration. Town councillors are always complaining about the limited power and funding that they possess. And if town councils are not to be abolished, then in order to justify their existence, government should increase their power to raise finances and make a real difference in the towns they represent. On the same note, if they are to stay, then fairness and equality should apply and towns with large populations that do not currently have their own town councils should be entitled to them. Either way, government needs to decide: should they stay or should they go, and if they're here to stay, give them teeth.