Ms Moira Murrell:

For the last three weeks I have been chief executive of Cork County Council. I am here today in my capacity as chairperson of the CCMA. Mr. Kevin Kelly is the chief executive of Mayo County Council and chairs one of our committees. The CCMA is a non-statutory body, a voluntary group established to be a representative voice of the local government management network. We welcome the opportunity to be here today.

Over the last decade the role of local government has fundamentally changed across its roles, responsibilities and priorities. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 introduced a number of critical structures which have strengthened the policy-making role of local government and strengthened its democratic leadership role, in our view. The municipal district structures, which provide for political representation across the full geographical areas of the local authority, the strategic policy committee, SPC, structures and the local community development committee, LCDC, structures provide critical fora for policy consideration and development. Each of these structures together with the corporate policy group, CPG, of the council are important subcommittees of the full council. It is noted that a recent review of the SPC structure by the Institute of Public Administration notes their value from a democratic governance perspective and makes suggestions for reform to increase their effectiveness. It is considered that this is a mechanism for elected members to have meaningful input into policy considerations from the earliest possible point in the process.

The traditional services provided by local authorities, including housing, roads, planning, fire service, libraries, amenities and so on, are well understood. While councils continue to provide these services, the role, responsibilities and nature of local government have changed significantly over the last decade. The economic and community leadership role of local government has strengthened over this time. This has been achieved through not only the county development plan process, but also the development of the local economic and community plans which underpin so many of our local priorities across a range of areas and functions provided by various agencies, bringing greater co-ordination and strategic outlook in policy development and delivery.

Over recent years the leadership role of local government has expanded due to its ability to bring various agencies and bodies together to focus on integration of responses to emergency situations. A good example of how this works on the ground is the local authority’s role in co-ordinating responses to severe weather events at a local level. Local authorities' contributions to the Government’s national priorities and programmes have been demonstrated strongly through the pandemic response and integration fora arising from the Ukraine war and displacement of populations.

The national housing priority has seen a central role for local government in the delivery of social and, increasingly, affordable housing. The alignment of county development plans in providing adequate zoning for development and identifying infrastructural gaps and priority investment areas is now more critical in setting local priorities. The priority to deliver town centre regeneration and rural regeneration programmes and the availability of very significant national funds, for example, the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF and rural regeneration and development fund, RRDF, has provided a significant opportunity for local government to plan in a more integrated way for area-based development at county and municipal level and give effect to local investment priorities.

The alignment of the local enterprise function to the overall local government role has strengthened the local government approach to leading and co-ordinating on economic development and enterprise in local authority areas. Local authorities continue to provide strong examples of leadership and collaboration in the areas of tourism, development and community engagement across their areas. The role and responsibilities entrusted to local authorities in the development and adoption of the county climate action plans is a significant and developing role for local government, specifically in the area of climate adaptation and mitigation.

Apart from working with our parent Department, local government also collaborates by acting as the delivery partner with more than 30 Departments and State agencies. Some examples include: working with the Department of tourism to roll out a number of initiatives in local authority areas, including the Creative Ireland programme and the creation of the local culture and creativity teams, local sports plans and night-time economy initiatives; working with the Department of Rural and Community Development on local community development committees, public participation networks, PPNs, local economic and community plans, rural development schemes, the LEADER programme, outdoor recreation, community grant schemes, broadband and library implementation; and working with the Department of children on Comhairle na nÓg and community integration forums. There is ongoing engagement with the Department of Justice regarding the new community safety partnerships, the Healthy Ireland local government programme is delivered on behalf of the Department of Health and we partner with the Arts Council, the Heritage Council and our parent Department to roll out a number of arts, heritage and biodiversity officers. In addition, we have involvement in the social inclusion area and we have taken the lead in investing in the age-friendly shared service, which adopts a multiagency approach to age-related planning and service provision. That is just to give some examples of the range involved.

While this evolving role of local government presents a significant opportunity for local government into the future, it is in this context that local authorities have required significant changes in structures, approaches and expertise requirements. At present, as I mentioned, local government engages with 30 funding agencies and Departments and, in many cases, the co-ordination of schemes – there are approximately 500 different grant schemes - and opportunities to give effect to best delivery. These funds can have significant and varied cofunding, administration, reporting and resourcing requirements.

The sustainable financing and funding of local government into the future is a key consideration. It is important that the ambitions of the county development plans, metropolitan plans and local economic and community plans are founded on longer-term financial planning by councils. By way of example, the scale of the urban and rural regeneration programmes and aligned schemes is potentially transformative for many areas, and local authority cofunding is essential to delivery. In many cases, this presents a significant longer-term financial commitment. Additionally, some critical financial requirements by local government across a range of areas have emerged in recent times, for example, transitioning organisations to meet the Climate 2030 targets, housing stock maintenance and vacancy management, cybersecurity and resilience, road network maintenance and the needs of adverse weather and climate as they impact on the local area.

The scale of operations across local government requires that the principles of sound and good governance are bedded in local authorities. The local governance framework is an important composite guidance for local authorities, with one of its central principles outlining the importance of co-operation between the elected council and the executive and referencing strong oversight and performance evaluation through the internal and external structures of local government. In conclusion, the CCMA is committed to the delivery of local government and local policy in a spirit of public service and commitment to the public good.