LAST UPDATE | 22 Jul

THE GOVERNMENT HAS been advised to introduce Municipal Councils in local authorities across the country, as part of a significant overhaul of local government.

The recommendation is one of 23 made by the Local Democracy Taskforce, which was set up by the Department of Housing and Local Government last year with the aim of reforming and strengthening local government.

Among the other recommendations are that the newly established Municipal Councils will have enhanced budgetary and decision-making powers.

This will include, according to the report, “transport-related powers” for the new councillor bodies.

The taskforce’s final report was brought to cabinet this morning by Housing Minister James Browne and published afterwards.

One of the core recommendations of the report is to set up Municipal Councils in every local authority, with enhanced budgetary and decision-making powers.

It is envisioned that this sub-county structure would not be a separate entity but one that enables more local decision-making, with the city and/or county council retaining primacy.

Under the proposal, Municipal Councils would have their own expanded budget process, greater authority over expenditure priorities within their area, and a formal role in developing and delivering town programmes, among other things. 

Councils would also be given a much stronger role in setting policy priorities, overseeing implementation of policy, scrutinising executive performance, and approving applications for central government funding.

Unlike former Town Councils, which were abolished in 2011 as a cost saving measure by the Fine Gael and Labour Government in the wake of the financial crash, Municipal Councils would represent a wider spread of residents, including those in rural hinterlands.

The taskforce is also understood to have recommended giving councils more autonomy on how they raise revenue, as well as a review of local electoral boundaries, well in advance of the 2029 local elections.

A steering group is set to be established by the Department to implement the plan.

With reporting by Eoghan Dalton