Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be helpful to the Deputy, in the case of Waterford and Carlow, membership of the committee includes: Mr. David O'Connor, former Fingal County Manager, who will chair the committee; Mr. Ciarán Lynch from the Limerick Institute of Technology, Thurles Campus, and former chief planner with Clare County Council; and Mr. Ollie Killeen, former head of finance at Limerick County Council.

Rather than considering it in isolation, we should see the boundary review as very much part of an ongoing assessment of potential reforms which may be warranted beyond those measures announced in the action programme for effective local government and subsequently provided for in the Local Government Reform Act 2014. The majority of the provisions of that Act commenced with effect from 1 June 2014, and that date marked the activation of a range of significant changes in the local government system. Policy decisions to replace town authorities with a new model of municipal governance are at the core of the reform agenda. The model is designed to strengthen local government within counties and address widely acknowledged and long-standing weaknesses and anomalies in the previous system, including the problem of administration that is divided between town and county authorities.

Municipal districts and borough districts, where they arise, now cover the entire territory of counties. As well as creating a more rational and comprehensive structural arrangement, the new system will, over time, result in more effective and community-focused decision making and implementation, with improved accountability and responsiveness to local needs. Moreover, under the new arrangements, there is full integration of local authority resources across each county and elimination of duplication in both administrative and electoral terms.

The establishment of statutory committees to review local government boundaries in Carlow and Laois is a natural and complementary development building on these changes. The Minister, Deputy Kelly, will study the report of the committees carefully after they have concluded their work at the end of February next year.

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