# councils

Last month

February 2023

# livestreaming

FG councillor taking legal advice as she claims council is 'blocking' broadcasting meetings

A vote taken in 2021 saw Laois County Council approve providing finances for livestreaming its meetings.

11.0k

Updated

Feb 2nd 2023, 6:20 AM

Last year

2022

# Housing

Councils to secure proportion of any land value increase arising from residential zoning decisions

Land value increases when planning decisions are made to zone land, with the uplift going to the landowners or developers, but not to the State.

15.9k

Dec 14th 2022, 6:15 AM

# Waterford

Council criticised by auditor for not recovering €700k bill for clearing ex-mayor's landfill

Declan Doocey, a Fine Gael councillor, served as Mayor of Waterford City and County between 2018 and 2019.

35.9k

Dec 9th 2022, 5:35 PM

# Housing Crisis

Councils that can deliver rapid-build houses on sites will have land debt paid off

Local authorities are currently carrying around €309 million of land legacy debt.

14.2k

Nov 23rd 2022, 7:57 AM

# Housing

Councils identify 89 State-owned buildings to immediately house over 5,000 Ukrainian refugees

A total of 25,383 refugees have arrived in the country as of last night.

35.0k

Apr 26th 2022, 7:45 PM

All time

# Explainer

A useful guide to Ireland's planning system and how to have your say on proposed developments

News of two developments brought the system into focus again this week.

14.4k

Oct 9th 2021, 7:00 PM

# affordable homes

Councillors to be bypassed with transfer of local authority lands to State agency without council vote

The State agency is tasked to fully utilise state lands to build affordable homes.

22.7k

Feb 5th 2021, 5:32 PM

# Simon Communities

'Chronic lack of supply' of affordable homes outside Dublin, warns homelessness charity

The latest report from the Simon Communities reveals the lack of affordable housing across the country.

30.9k

Nov 1st 2020, 6:13 PM

# Infrastructure

NTA allocates €55m to councils to enhance cycling and walking infrastructure

The funding was allocated under the July Jobs Stimulus Plan announced by the government last month.

21.3k

Aug 22nd 2020, 11:52 AM

# vacant site levy

The tax to try prevent property owners from hoarding land was only collected by 1 in 8 councils last year

There was over €2 million outstanding due to councils under the vacant site levy at the beginning of this year.

19.8k

May 21st 2020, 3:25 PM

# anti-corruption

The two 'most transparent' councils in Ireland are in Dublin

Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council have topped a new index of the country’s 31 local authorities.

19.3k

Dec 9th 2019, 7:43 AM

# Local Elections

Women represent less than 6% of seats on some councils - how does your council fare on gender?

Sinn Féin and Solidarity-People Before Profit were the only parties to see a decrease in the number of female elected candidates.

16.5k

May 31st 2019, 12:05 AM

AS IT HAPPENED

All to play for as first European election counts announced

Stick with us as we bring you the latest updates all evening and into the night.

75.7k

May 27th 2019, 12:10 AM

# Nature

Petition accusing councils of cutting down too many trees reaches over 5,500 signatures

The petition wants councils to stop cutting down trees in public spaces without informing the public.

20.5k

Mar 9th 2019, 7:30 AM

# Social Housing

The myth of the free council house: 'We're not just handing them over, that would be crazy'

Dublin City Council tenants paid a total of €78.3 million in rent last year.

102k

Dec 22nd 2018, 12:05 AM

# Gender Quotas

Call to tackle 'significant underrepresentation' of women in senior council roles

Just under three in 10 Chief Executive (28%) and Director of Services (26%) roles in local authorities nationally are held by women.

10.2k

Nov 29th 2018, 6:10 AM

# Thirsty Work

Dublin councils plan to install public water fountains to reduce use of plastic bottles

Dublin City Council has said it aims to install water refill stations at areas of “high pedestrian footfall”.

23.9k

Nov 4th 2018, 8:30 AM

# Endorsements

Number of councils to vote on who they endorse for the presidential election

Presidential hopefuls must secure the support of four local authorities, or 20 TDs and senators to stand in the election.

8.0k

Sep 10th 2018, 7:45 AM

# Breakdown

Council by council: An extra 118,000 people have registered to vote ahead of tomorrow's referendum

More than 3.2 million people are now registered to vote in tomorrow’s referendum.

17.1k

May 24th 2018, 7:33 AM

# voter data

Pro-life groups secured access to the names and addresses of Irish voters ahead of the referendum

An investigation by TheJournal.ie and OpenDemocracy has found that at least two pro-life groups have applied for copies of the register for different local authorities.

64.7k

117

May 23rd 2018, 7:00 PM

# Corruption

Galway City Council is the local authority with the most integrity

Transparency International Ireland said even the highest ranking councils in its index have work to do.

17.3k

May 16th 2018, 7:01 AM

# councils

A mixed bag for May and Corbyn while UKIP vote obliterated in English local elections

Both the Tories and Labour had lost a set of key councils, but had made gains in overall numbers.

23.5k

May 4th 2018, 8:09 AM

Why councils will soon be fining themselves for owning vacant housing sites

The vacant sites levy was introduced to free up land for homes.

18.7k

Mar 3rd 2018, 4:00 PM

Dublin County Council rejects planning permission for apartments as being "visually unacceptable"

The country’s biggest private landlord, Ires Reit, wanted to build the units at Sandyford in Dublin.

32.8k

Apr 4th 2017, 8:40 AM

# unsung heroes

'Dr Seuss or a librarian in Cashel?': Council workers are having the craic on Twitter today

‘Our Council Day’ has been showcasing the work of firefighters, librarians and other behind-the-scenes employees.

9.8k

Mar 7th 2017, 5:11 PM

# In the red

Ireland's local authorities are over €4 billion in debt

Minister Simon Coveney says he doesn’t believe that any of the loans are unsustainable.

13.4k

Jul 25th 2016, 6:15 AM

# taking in charge

On the eve of election, government ploughs €10 million into making sure estates are looked after

The money will be used to streamline the ‘taking in charge’ process.

14.4k

Feb 3rd 2016, 10:51 AM

# fishy

Polluted water kills "extensive" amount of fish in Limerick

The incident is thought to have killed an “extensive” number of fish.

8.2k

Jun 9th 2015, 2:45 PM

# Fail

Only two of 32 councils are fully complying with laws to provide services in Irish

Donegal and Laois county councils were the only bodies fully compliant.

12.4k

May 14th 2015, 8:29 AM

# barking mad

They can DNA test dog poo now, but you don't have to worry just yet...

The UK Council of Barking and Dagenham has become the first local authority in the UK to introduce the system.

10.1k

Apr 29th 2015, 6:05 AM

# clamping rage

Here's how much councils make from parking fines ... and which streets are the top earners

Were you caught in any of these locations?

44.4k

Mar 20th 2015, 2:24 PM

# letter from america

An English councillor says he can do his job from the USA

Telecommuting is all the rage, sure.

12.9k

Mar 12th 2015, 4:53 PM

# Expenses

File sent to DPP over Donegal councillor's expenses

Former councillor Dessie Larkin claimed he was at two meetings at the one time.

9.9k

Dec 19th 2014, 11:58 AM

# Thirsty Work

Here's how much money local authorities have given to Irish Water

The running of water services is being transferred from councils to Irish Water.

10.3k

Dec 3rd 2014, 7:00 AM

# Water Water Everywhere

Irish Water is asking councils for information on their tenants

The company says it needs to have an up to date database.

11.0k

114

Nov 5th 2014, 11:48 AM

# homeless ireland

Where would you stay if you became homeless tomorrow?

Emergency accommodation beds across the nation’s capital are at 99% capacity. If you became homeless tomorrow, what could you expect to face?

12.4k

Oct 2nd 2014, 9:30 AM

# pay out

Retiring town councillors will be paid around €4.6 million

The payment will be offset by long-term savings says Phil Hogan.

7.2k

Jun 12th 2014, 6:15 AM

# In A Council Minute

Why don't some local authorities publish their minutes?

In short: because they don’t have to.

5.3k

Jun 9th 2014, 7:15 AM

# The Councillors

Who is your new local councillor? Here's a list of everyone elected

A comprehensive list of everyone who has nabbed a seat.

567k

263

Jun 8th 2014, 8:18 PM

# Politics is Local

Here's how to keep up with your newly-elected council

You elected them, now pay attention to what they do.

11.4k

Jun 2nd 2014, 6:30 PM