Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Ian McGahon from Bray, County Wicklow, told me the town has lost direct decision-making powers on housing and planning as well as direct finance and budgets. Towns have lost out greatly because of the 2014 legislation.

Mr. Seamus Ryan from Ennis, County Clare, told me communities took pride in having their local councils for their towns, and that the councils were a vital avenue for advocacy for people in small communities across the entirety of the country and they gave people a local focal point. People are being badly represented because of the changes introduced in the municipal districts, where it can literally take hours to cross from one end to the other. Ennis, a town of 26,000, effectively has three councillors as the other five are all rural. Shannon, which has a population of 13,000, has one councillor from the town. This shows the imbalance that can arise. I mean no disrespect to the rural councillors. They are fighting tooth and nail. Every councillor is travelling miles and getting damn-all for it. I was a rural councillor myself, in an area 12 or 14 miles from Mullingar. I was representing rural areas but the councillors elected in Mullingar knew intimately every pothole, ditch, hedgerow, light, pavement and manhole cover. I could not know those. This is where it all fell down. We need to give back a voice to the councillors and not be afraid to do so.

Mr. Aaron Byrne from Kells, County Meath, is a neighbour of Deputy Cassells. Mr. Byrne told me the removal of the town councils has created a deficit of representation for people in smaller towns and villages around the country. In his area there are three towns - Kells, Athboy and Oldcastle, which neighbours my county - that have all lost town councils and are now represented at county level by the shared seven councillors. This means seven voices among 40 on Meath County Council fighting for resources for three towns in a large municipal district. Kells is listed in the county development plan as having only a support function to Navan, which is in a different municipal district. As a result, there are seven councillors trying to vie for funding across a huge area of the county against seven councillors specifically elected to serve Navan town, backed up by a county development plan. That is the type of imbalance that happens because of the structure. While I might represent Mullingar and Deputy Cassells represents Navan, we represent everyone but it is important that the large towns have representatives. Kells needs representatives who can prioritise the needs of Kells and focus on developing the town and hinterlands in their own right and not as supporting entities of larger towns in the county.

Mr. Johnny Walsh from Ballinasloe, County Galway, listed eight reasons a town council is needed in the town. First, the town could set its own commercial rates, which were 30% lower than the county rate. The increase is hitting the town hard. Second, it would restore personal contact with local council officials instead of people having to travel 40 miles to the closest office. Third, it would reconnect the general public in our towns with the political process, which is important. Fourth, it would restore our budgetary, planning and housing functions to our town, giving people local control. Fifth, it would restore the discretionary community fund in respect of which the town council had the relevant local knowledge for allocating money to projects that needed it. Sixth, it would ensure proper services for people in the town for council housing maintenance and the upkeep of council green areas. Seventh, the previous town council had an affordable council rent scheme but the county council scheme is a more expensive scheme for tenants, even if there is no increase in their income. Eighth, it would restore a sense of civic pride in that the town would have its own local mayor to officiate at important local events.

As the Minister of State can see across the State, people who care about their towns want the opportunity to make their urban areas better. Their specific concerns are getting lost. Diversity is essential. It allows towns to experiment with new ways of doing things, to try out new projects and specialise based on the attributes they have. It gives towns a voice – a voice they now lack. I support the returning of those voices to the local councils.

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