Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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989. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to reintroduce town councils; if so, the process he plans to follow; the timeframe he is following; if there will be a consultative process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24069/19]

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Local Government Reform Act 2014 saw the dissolution of 80 town councils and the Government has no plans for their reintroduction. Instead, the focus of current policy is to strengthen the operation of the 95 municipal districts established in 2014 and which cover the entirety of the State’s population as opposed to the 14% of the population previously represented by town councils.

It should be noted that engagement with local authority members, as represented by the Association of Irish Local Government, has focused on strengthening the roles of municipal districts and achieving a clearer focus on towns within that context.