Councillors stripped of planning powers

CLARE county councillors have been stripped of their power to direct county manager Tom Coughlan to make major planning decisions in exceptional cases that may be in contravention of the County Development Plan.

This is just one of the changes, which includes the abolition of the four local town councils in Ennis, Shannon, Kilrush and Kilkee with a combined membership of 36, as part of the most dramatic overhaul of local government in over 100 years. Councillors have been given the thankless task of levying rates for the introduction of a new property tax next year, which looks set to cause major controversy at council meetings.

 

Although the number of county councillors could be cut from 32 to 24, no decision has been taken on the exact number of members, which will be decided by a new independent statutory committee.

The decision to remove the option from councillors to table a Section 140 motion under the 2001 Local Government Act has been criticised as “unnecessary” and a “retrograde” step by Councillor PJ Kelly.

Under this provision, councillors had the power to direct the county manager to grant planning permission for an applicant they deemed was unfairly treated by the planning process after a vote taken by 24 out of the 32-member authority.

Councillor Kelly claimed Environment Minister Phil Hogan had wrongly decided to introduce this change nationwide, despite its proper application in Clare. He claimed such power had been abused in the past in counties like Kerry and Galway.

The Lissycasey councillor stated this provision had only been applied seven times with the unanimous approval of members over his 38-year period on the council.

Describing the overall restructuring as “cosmetic”, rather than dealing with the main issue of the lack of finance for Clare County Council, he stressed that a rating authority like Ennis Town Council should have been retained.

The new changes, which were exclusively revealed in last week’s Clare Champion, will completely change the administration of local government in Clare after the 2014 Local Elections.

“I believe the new alternations are designed to confuse, rather than convince. Most of the proposals are very vague and don’t specify whether the new municipal districts will have a sub-budget. A lot of these proposals, like the property tax, are being introduced by stealth. The big question is how will Clare County Council be financed and will their finances be put on a proper footing? Under the equalisation mechanism, Clare County Council have fared poorly. The council gets €10 million in rates from Moneypoint but this is reduced from the Local Government Fund,” Councillor Kelly said.

New municipal districts will be established in Clare and will take over the responsibilities of town councils. The areas of the municipal districts will be drawn up on the basis of a review by an independent statutory committee, which will report by early 2013.

A single countywide administrative structure will deal with operational functions and elected members will decide relevant matters at municipal district and county levels, with no duplication or overlapping of functions.

Councillors will be simultaneously elected to the municipal districts and the county council, instead of the current separate town and county councils.

Mayor of Clare Councillor Pat Daly expressed surprise with the overall extent of the changes, as he felt some of the town councils, particularly Ennis and Kilrush, which strike a commercial rate, should have been retained.

“It is sad to see the four town councils abolished. A lot of town councillors have given great service over the years overseeing local authority matters, such as planning, roads and other infrastructural projects in their area. A lot of the proposals for Local Government Reform are very vague. No decision has been taken in terms of the number of county councillors or what the make-up of the new municipal districts will be. It now looks as if Clare County Council will assume full responsibility for the day-to-day running of these towns,” he said.

Councillor Patricia McCarthy dismissed suggestions the restructuring is radical because it doesn’t deal with the critical issue of funding and claimed the council could end up as the “fall guy” for the Government to collect money that would be sent back to the Department of Environment for redistribution.

Councillor McCarthy recalled the council hasn’t fared well over the years from the equalisation mechanism and its overall allocation from the Local Government Fund, compared to most authorities.

“The new method of funding councils and how funds are redistributed will have to be carefully monitored. The issue of whether adequate funding will be provided for municipal districts and the county council will have to be addressed. Clare County Council has already been disadvantaged in terms of the household charge, due to the disproportionate withholding of funds, despite having one of the highest collection rates,” she said.

Mayors hit out at local government reform
THE mayors of the four town councils set to be abolished in Clare have hit out strongly at their proposed demise, saying it is a sad day for local democracy.

Councillor Peter Considine, who was first elected to Ennis Town Council in 1974, claimed the future development and management of the town of Ennis would be undermined by the replacement of town councils with new municipal districts.

Describing the abolition of Ennis Town Council as a “regressive” step, Councillor Considine stressed Ennis, as Clare’s largest town and one of the county’s primary commercial and employment centres, must have a local authority in place that is charged solely with managing its development, both now and in the future.

“The factors affecting the management and development of the Ennis urban area, which has a population of over 25,000, are dramatically different to those relating to the county, which is currently managed by Clare County Council.

“The development of the town, particularly during the last 20 years, has been initiated and led by a very effective partnership of elected members and officials within Ennis Town Council, whose decisions were based on driving social, economic and cultural activity in the town.

“As a result of Minister Hogan’s decision, I hope that in 15 to 20 years time Ennis will not be seeking assistance regarding the establishment of a regeneration project for the town,” Mayor Considine concluded.

Kilrush town mayor Mairéad O’Brien predicted the loss of the town council will make it more difficult for local people to access local government services.

“You’ll pick up the phone and you’ll be dialling a number of another town. You’ll be getting ‘please press one for roads, please press two for water and please press three for this’. It’ll take you half an hour to get down to the option you want. You’ll get through to the wrong person and you’ll be disconnected,” she forecast.

Kilkee town mayor Claire Haugh described the abolition of Kilkee Town Council as a “huge blow for the town and local democracy”.

Councillor Haugh said Minister Hogan could have amalgamated Kilrush and Kilkee town councils, which would have been far more beneficial and would have facilitated constituents who wanted to raise issues with local representatives.

She said a phased approach could have been introduced instead of the dramatic changes in structures before the next local elections.

“We are now having a wake for Kilkee Town Council and the burial will be in 2014,” she said.

Shannon town mayor Councillor Michael Fleming admitted he is “disgusted” and “sickened” by the abolition of Shannon Town Council, which he described as a “step too far”.

Asked if he considered leaving the party, due to his strong views, Councillor Fleming said he feels he shouldn’t resign and wants to continue fulfilling his mandate for his constituents up to 2014.