A directly elected mayor, restoring town councils and a referendum on water ownership – these are just some of the main points included in the ‘More Power To You’ campaign which has been launched across the country recently.
Three Trade Unions, CONNECT, Fotsa and SIPTU, have come together to for an initiative which they say will bring stronger local government and better local services to Laois if enacted.
At a presentation in the Killeshin Hotel in Portlaoise last week, candidates were told about a five point action plan – Democracy, Housing, Water, Waste and Energy.
Fianna Fail’s Catherine Fitzgerald, Pauline Madigan, Liam O’Neill and Deirdre O’Connell Hopkins were joined on the day by Fine Gael’s John King and Independent candidate Brian Furlong.
Via a research paper, Democracy Works If You Let It by Dr Mary Murphy of Maynooth University, the candidates heard how only 8% of Irish public spending occurs at local government level, compared to an EU23 average of over 23%, and that a quarter of the Irish spend is not fully under local authority control.
With just one city or county council for every 148,507 people, Ireland has far fewer local municipalities than similar-sized European countries.
The study says Irish local authorities perform fewer functions than municipalities across Europe, with their roles largely confined to physical infrastructure and environmental and recreational services.
Democracy Works If You Let It claims this impacts negatively on local employment, service quality, value-for-money, environmental protection, and local jobs and economic development. It has also contributed to declining local election voter turnout.
The groups blame centralisation, executive direction, privatisation and austerity for these problems.
A presentation by Forsa’s Joe O’Connor explained each of the five points on the action plan in detail:
Democracy – The plan wishes to establish a new and more representative system of local government, with funding powers, directly elected mayors and a new system of town councils to give real power to the community.
Housing – Immediate investment will enable local authorities to effectively maintain, repair and retrofit current housing supply. Long-term, a cost rental model will enable local authorities once again to provide housing where and when it is needed most.
Water – A referendum should be held to ensure our water remains in public ownership and local authorities should be enabled to provide affordable housing where and when it is needed most.
Waste – A new regulator for household waste collection should be established to clean up our refuse market and enable local authorities to once again offer a competitive domestic bin collection service.
Energy – With proper funding, local authorities can play a key role in setting carbon reduction targets, and in the promotion and education of communities in low carbon transition.
All of the candidates in attendance signed up to the plan.
SEE ALSO – Loan deposits demand compounding ‘housing crisis’ in Laois
