Ms Gillian Coughlan:

I would keep the three, strengthen them, democratise them, fund them and allow them to do the jobs they are already successfully doing, although somewhat constrained because of the centralisation of funding. If the cohesion tap is turned off, as has been said, that is an existential threat. It is more than just money. It is about participation in the European project - territorially, socially and economically. All of that must boil down to these units called regions. We must make a better effort to strengthen the regions and create an identity for our local authorities with the regions. It sounds bureaucratic and it is dry, but it has to be done. It is about people being employed to do the job. Who will bell the cat? Who is in charge of making sure that Cork city, Cork county and Kerry County Council are working in tandem with the regional authority, that each is serving the others’ interests and that everybody is on the same page? That is really what needs to happen. I think that comes down to people and resources being allocated towards that.