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The nuts and bolts of the local elections

2009-05-19T07:21:00.000+01:00

Sunday, May 17, 2009
Structure

There are 114 local authorities in Ireland. These comprise 29 county councils (including two in Tipperary and three in Dublin), five city councils, five borough councils and 75 town councils.

The five city councils are Cork, Galway, Limerick, Dublin and Waterford. County and city councils operate on an equal basis, while below them are the town councils. Clonmel, Drogheda, Kilkenny, Sligo and Wexford have borough councils, but these have no greater powers than town councils.

Their different title is simply a recognition of the borough corporation status they held prior to the structural reform of the Local Government Act 2001.

These different councils are the formal policy-making arm of the local authorities and are responsible for the adoption of annual budgets, by-laws and development plans.

Day-to-day management of the local authority rests with a city or county manager appointed following a recommendation from the Local Appointments Commission.

Local authorities’ functions fall into a number of general areas: housing and building; road transportation and safety; water supply and sewerage; development incentives and control; environmental protection; recreation and amenities; agriculture; education; health; and welfare.

It may seem from this list that local government has a broad policy remit, but the powers they wield in these areas depend entirely on central government.

For example, the main function of local authorities vis-a’-vis education is to administer third-level grants on behalf of the Higher Education Authority (HEA). Such is the subordinate position of local authorities.

The money trail

The key reason why local government remains subordinate to central authority is its lack of fiscal autonomy, of which there is very little in Ireland according to a 2008 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Prior to 1978, the primary source of finance for local authorities was domestic rates, but these were abolished following Fianna Fáil’s return to office in 1977.

Local government has never recovered from this decision, and serious reform can occur only alongside an increase in the revenue-raising powers of local authorities.

While reform was recommended in a 1996 government report, Better Local Government: A Programme for Change, only some of its provisions were introduced in the Local Government Act of 2001.

Two key aspects of this legislation were a ban on the dual mandate (holding political office at multiple levels) and a provision for the direct election of mayors with executive functions.

While the entry of the Greens into government with Fianna Fáil was expected to quicken the pace of reform, the jury is still out on the latter’s commitment. While a green paper – Stronger Local Democracy-Options for Change – was produced in 2008, the white paper promised is in the pipeline.

Local elections

To what extent will any of these issues concerning local government be raised during the local elections? There has never been any sense of a nationwide sentiment in favour of reform; with current economic concerns more pressing, this is not likely to change in 2009.

The local elections will, however, be an indirect indicator of attitudes to local government. Traditionally, opposition parties prefer to fight their local campaigns on national issues, while the government parties restrict their focus to local issues.

This is not due to any genuine desire to promote local government. Rather it is because the government tends to face a mid-term backlash from voters at local elections. To avoid such a backlash, government parties were often guilty of going so far as to postpone local elections.

This practice happened on 15 occasions until elections were fixed at five-yearly intervals by a referendum in 1999. This June there will be 1,627 councillors elected, 883 at county and city level and 744 at town and borough level.

This works out at one councillor for every 2,500 persons. This is a relatively low ratio; for example, there is one councillor per 118 persons in France.

Local trends

As a guide to what will happen next month, it is useful to consider past local elections. Some key trends are apparent: compared with Dáil elections, voter turnout is lower, Fianna Fáil’s support declines and independents tend to fare better. For example, Fianna Fáil’s average first preference vote at local elections since 1985 has been 33 per cent, while it has won 42 per cent of votes in Dáil elections over the same period.

While voters’ anger may well motivate an increase in turnout, it is likely that the fate of Fianna Fáil and independent candidates will not be much different.

* Examining local elections in a wider context, the effects differ for parties and candidates. For aspirant TDs, it is useful first to serve in local government, and this was the path taken by 77 per cent of TDs elected in 2007.

Those looking for the next crop of emerging TDs should focus on new councillors elected this June. Lucinda Creighton and Leo Varadkar of Fine Gael were both elected first-time councillors in 2004. This acted as a springboard for their successful Dáil campaigns in 2007.

In contrast, party success at local government level does not necessarily filter through to Dáil elections.

Fianna Fáil has traditionally bounced back from a poor local performance, while the smaller parties have not always capitalised on local election gains.

Dr Liam Weeks is a lecturer in politics in the department of government at University College Cork. His book, with colleague Dr Aodh Quinlivan, All Politics Is Local: a Guide to Local Elections in Ireland, is published by Collins Press

Broadband '€4m waste of money'

2009-05-17T09:54:00.000+01:00

By Maria PEPPER

Wednesday May 13 2009

WEXFORD'S €4 million broadband connection was a disgraceful waste of money, a senior Council boss admitted this week.

Director of Services Adrian Doyle saw red at a Borough Council meeting on Monday night when told that only 14 business were connected to the network three years after it was provided.

Rounding on Niall Beirne of E/ Net, the network management company, he said :' The capital cost standing us at the moment is ¤400,00 per connection. You can't say that's value for money'.

'Get real. The country is nearly broke and you're talking about value for money at ¤ 400,000 a connection,' he added.

The E/Net representative was invited to address the meeting following recent complaints from Cllr. George Lawlor and other councillors about the ' exhorbitant' cost of network connections for businesses.

A verbal row ensued after Mr. Beirne claimed that it was not meant to be 'broadband for all' but was designed for larger corporate enterprises and multinationals. Mr. Doyle begged to differ. 'I was responsible for broadband in Wexford. That was not the position. It was put in for small and medium enterprises as well as larger ones'.

The Director of Services said the Council did a huge job of promoting the network and the fact that only 14 customers were connected, at least three of which are State users - the County Hall, the Fire Station and the Library-was a big disappointment.

'It's a national disgrace,' he said, adding that he had been having an argument with E/Net about pricing for the past three years and he still didn't understand it.

Mr. Beirne explained to members that E/Net does not retail any service to customers but acts as a wholesaler, selling the network to the likes of BT and Smart. E/Net had no control over the end price.

In response to questioning, he said the typical cost of a connection now, depending on the distance a premises is away from cable and including digging work, is ¤ 7,500.

Cllr. Lawlor who was quoted ¤ 60,000 for his printing business three years ago compared this price with broadband connection costs in the U.K. where Virgin were offering state-of-the art connections for substantially less.

In England, you could get a 50 megabyte connection for a £50 connection fee and an annual network charge of £610.

'When is this white elephant going to become relevant to the businesses of Wexford,' he asked.

Mr. Beirne told the meeting that additional business customers including Coca Cola were expected down the line.

And E/ Net was looking at extending MANS and bringing it closer to businesses, thereby hopefully reducing the cost.

Cllr. Paddy Nolan described the overall cost as 'daylight robbery' while Cllr. Anthony Kelly said 'it's a joke'.

'We were duped into believing that Wexford was going to be transformed by this new technology. We were lied to', said Cllr. Kelly.

Cllr. Padge Reck said he was trying to find out if it was E/Net that is 'ripping us off ' or the operators. 'Is it a cosy cartel?'

Mr. Beirne denied that this was the case. He said he had come to the meeting in a 'spirit of goodwill and co-operation' to answer questions openly.

'While it is your asset, we are managing it and we want to be part of any solutions', he said.

- Maria PEPPER

Wexford roads in a state

2009-05-17T09:48:00.001+01:00

By Maria PEPPER

Wednesday May 13 2009

IMPROVEMENT and maintenace work on regional and local roads in Wexford town has come to a sudden stop following a Budget reduction in the national grant allocated to Wexford Borough Council.

At the beginning of the year, the Department of Transport notified the Council it was getting a roads allocation of ? 377,000. Following the emergency Budget, that amount has been reduced to ?145,000.

'The net effect of this is that the roads progamme for 2009 is effectively finished,' the Borough Engineer Eddie Taaffe told a meeting on Monday night.

The Council has already spent the revised amount in the first four months of the year and now there is no more money left.

Funding is no longer available to resurface 'Codd's Lane' in Ferrycarrig, as planned.

The work that was carried out included the resurfacing of Ballyboggan to Park Road; resurfacing in Mansfield Drive and Talbot Green; footpath repairs in the Faythe; replacement footpaths in Common Quay Street and footpath repairs in Rowe Street, Pinewood and Whitemill Road.

'This is the worst cut since the Christmas bonus,' said Cllr. Padge Reck while Mayor Ted Howlin said it was the 'most frightening' statement he had read in a long time.

€17.7m for road works

2009-02-06T09:58:00.002Z

Wednesday February 04 2009

WEXFORD County Council has been allocated €17.7 million under the Regional & Local Road Budget for 2009.

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey this week announced the government's spending plans for the regional and local roads network for 2009, totalling €607.5 million.

Among the details outlined in his announcement for 2009 was an allocation of over €17.7 million for Wexford County Council, €675,000 to Wexford Borough Council and €287,000 each for both New Ross Town Council and Enniscorthy Town Council. This means a total of almost €19 million for Co. Wexford.

Among the substantial investments being made by the government in the coming year are
€600,000 for the R733 Arthurstown-New Ross road;
€800,000 for the R730 from Drinagh to W e x f o r d Bridge,
€700,000 for the R742 from Fahey's Cross to Courtown;
€235,000 for the R741 from Wexford to Gorey and
€500,000 for the R744 from Blackwater to Enniscorthy.

RTE Week in Politics

2009-02-01T10:26:00.005Z

Vincent was asked by RTE's popular Week in Politics program to comment on the
current perceived status of Fianna Fail and in particular their approach
to Local Government and the processes and procedures the party employes when
appointing Local Candidates to represent their party.

Almost 2,000 more out of work in year

2009-01-16T09:26:00.001Z

By Conor CULLEN

Wednesday January 14 2009

UNEMPLOYMENT IN the Wexford district has now reached 'crisis' point, with the latest CSO figures showing that almost 2,000 more people are now claiming unemployment benefit than at the same time last year.

The latest figures show that 342 more people joined the dole queue in Wexford town in December 2008 as unemployment hit a ten-year high. There are now 4,882 people on the Live Register in Wexford town and district, compared to 2,859 at this time last year – an increase of 1,963 people, or just over 70 per cent.

The numbers claiming unemployment benefit continue to increase every month and yet another threshold was broken in December as over 1,000 people under the age of 25 are now on the Live Register in Wexford. Of these 1,075 claimants, 684 are young men and 391 young women.

Overall, there are 3,032 men on the Live Register in Wexford town and district, compared to 1,790 women.

Labour Councillor Joe Ryan says that unemployment in the Wexford district has now reached 'crisis point' and that he is concerned that the Government has no strategy to deal with it.

Cllr. Ryan said that while the overall unemployment figures are subject to national trends, 'we are seeing a repeat of trends from the 1980s, where young people are bearing the brunt of the jobs crisis'.

'Figures only count the number without work, but its when you look closely to see who is losing their job that the reality of the crisis emerges,' said Cllr. Ryan. 'Last month the number below the age of 25 broke the 1,000 barrier, now it looks set to rise even further,' he said.

Throughout County Wexford almost 5,500 people were added to the Live Register last year. In December alone, 909 more people sought unemployment benefit, bringing the total number of countywide claimants to 12,978.

Of the four social welfare offices, the highest number are signing on in Wexford (4,822), followed by Enniscorthy (3,249), Gorey (2,607) and New Ross (2,300).

- Conor CULLEN

Council accepted incorrect Library Tender...

2009-01-16T09:21:00.002Z

By Conor CULLEN

Wednesday January 14 2009

WEXFORD County Council could save a lot of money as a result of a hiccup in the tendering process for the new County Library, it was claimed on Monday.

Construction work was due to start this month but has been put back after the Department of Finance rejected the tender accepted by Wexford County Council because the contract was submitted in an old format.

The successful building contractor was given the option of tendering again in the new fixed price form required by the Department but turned it down so the project now has to go to tender again.

In the meantime, the cordoned-off site at Mallin Street is to be re-surfaced at a cost of ¤35,000 and used as a public car park again.

'It didn't work out, but I put no blame on the contractor, these things are quite complex,' said Director of Services Tony Larkin at Monday's meeting of the local authority.

Mr. Larkin said that he expected the project to be back out to tender quite quickly and contractors on site 'over summer'.

He encouraged the Councillors to look for 'the rainbow after the shower', saying that 'the job may be re-tendered for a very reasonable price'.

Mr. Larkin said that in the current economic climate the County Council had found tendering processes are becoming extremely competitive, which is reflected in the projected prices. 'We've lost a few months, but financially it could work to our advantage,' said Mr. Larkin.

The question of when the library would be ready was raised by Cllr. Fergie Kehoe, who felt that if the funds were no longer available or the Mallin Street project, it should be incorporated into County Hall.

However, he was assured the funds were still there and the project would proceed as quickly as possible.

Wexford 42nd out of 55 towns

2009-01-11T09:47:00.000Z

Ref Wexford People

By Maria PEPPER

Wednesday January 07 2009

WEXFORD town has improved in the end-of-year IBAL (Irish Business Against Litter) survey but is still way down in the national rankings after ending 2008 with a 'moderately littered' label.

The town lost its litter free status and fell from glory in the second half of last year, ending up bottom of the list after being in the top four and five during 2006 and 2007.

It is now in 42nd place, an improvement on the previous survey which placed it 51st out of 55 towns in the country.

The latest survey carried out by An Taisce finds that 36 out of 55 Irish towns are litter free compared to only two when the survey began in 2002. But Wexford fails to make the grade.

'A big improvement but a bad second survey keeps it down the table' commented the judges who criticised Wexford Enterprise centre and the Wexford Harbour wall.

'The Enterprise Centre was more littered than previous IBAL anti-litter surveys', they remarked. 'The level of litter was such that it was almost a serious litter problem - if not tackled, it could deteriorate very quickly'.

A variety of food related litter and plastic bottles were found trapped in the boulders at the harbour wall, with little change from the previous inspection.

A number of areas came in for praise, including the Rosslare approach road. 'An excellent, fresh and clean approach to Wexford -road surface/signage/markings were in very good condition'.

The Dublin approach road was also described as 'excellent' along with the New Ross approach where the paving and grass were in a 'meticulous' condition and the road 'spotless'.

The car park at the Tourist Office was 'moderately littered' during the latest inspection. 'On the whole, this was quite good site but a light scattering of litter prevented it getting the top grade', said the judges.

The quayfront was 'a very well maintained and respected amenity with life-belts, benches, litter bins and poop and scoop facilities all in very good condition'.

Bayview Drive was singled out for its litter-free standard. 'The paving, grass and individual gardens were all in very good condition. This was a very clean site', according to the An Taisce inspectors. Donore Castle at Ferrycarrig was also complimented.

The judges highlighted discarded chewing gum as the greatest blemish on the urban landscape in Ireland. 'It is expensive to remove and consequently, for the most part, remains premanently stuck to our pavements', they said.

Wexford lags behind many of its near neighbours in this latest IBAL league table, with Wicklow (15th), Gorey (18th), Arklow (19th) and Waterford City (34th) all earning 'clean' status, and Enniscorthy (37th) and Kilkenny (39th) both finishing marginally above Wexford town in the litter list.

The cleanest town in the country is Howth according to the nationwide study issued on Monday. 'Seriously littered' Cobh in County Cork is the country's dirtiest town.

- Maria PEPPER

Meeting With Vincent

2008-12-15T12:44:00.001Z

In the Talbot again

Golden mile rents 'crippling' retailers

2008-12-04T15:06:00.000Z

MAIN STREET SHOPS FETCH UP TO ¤250,000 A YEAR
Anne Marie O'CONNOR Wexford People

EMPTY SHOP units in middle of Wexford's golden mile Main Street are seeking rents of up to ¤245,000 per annum.

The unit, formerly occupied by Joyce's in the centre of the town, is currently being offered for let. But anyone considering the lease must be prepared to pay nearly ¤5,000 a week in rent alone.

Smaller vacant units for let at the moment include the former Wool Shop at South Main Street now owned by Bobby O'Neill, and the jewellers shop once occupied by Laurence Woods. Each of these premises can be rented for ¤100,000 per annum.

At a time when the business community are calling on the local authority to adopt a rates freeze, Cllr. George Lawlor has lashed back saying the cost of rents are what's crippling the retailers in Wexford.

'We have heard calls from some sectors for the local authority to freeze or cut rates, however when you examine the cost of doing business in Wexford it is clear that the rent being changed by landlords to business is colossal,' he said.

'I have spoken to business perople who have told me of the figures they are paying at present. One restaurant on the Main Street is paying ¤50,000 per anum in rent, while another small shop is paying ¤32,000. Some of the bigger outlets are playing well in excess of ¤250,000 in rent,' he added.

Calling on landlords to review what they charge tenants during the economic downturn, Cllr. Lawlor said they had to 'be realistic in their rental demands'.

'We have a lot of empty premises on our Main Street at the moment. It is my belief that they are not empty because of Local Authority rates, but because of the huge rents being asked for. It is time that landlords become realistic and give their tenants a break. They have had it good for a long time now, they must strongly consider reducing rental charges in an effort to keep a strong and vibrant Main Street alive.'

As a business owner himself, Cllr. Lawlor said that he himself pays ¤3,000 per annum in commercial rates to Wexford Borough Council.

'Wexford Borough Council continues to invest in the Main Street. We will have spent ¤7 million on repaving whien it's finisted. We have transformed Selskar Suare and we continue to spend over ¤500,000 a year on street cleaning throughout the town. Some of the landlords on the Main Street won't even replace chutes and downpipes that are broken despite the fact that they are making huge profits on rental income,' he said.

Wexford Chamber of Commerce, however, are still hoping for a rates freeze by Wexford Borough Council when they complete their budget estimates later this y ear.

'We would certainly object to any increases in the rate, as they certainly won't help business in the current climate. All increases are going to be difficult to take,' she said.

Council hopeful quits Fianna Fáil

2008-12-04T11:54:00.001Z

VINCENT KENNEDY SLAMS 'DICTATORSHIP'

By Conor CULLEN

Wednesday December 03 2008

A WEXFORD Fianna Fáil member has resigned from the party in protest over the way candidates are being selected for next year's local elections.

Murrintown resident Vincent Kennedy (40) tendered his resignation from the party to Senator Lisa McDonald, who in turn sent it on to party HQ in Dublin.

Mr. Kennedy was PRO for Fianna Fáil in the Wexford district and a member of the Officer's Board of the Comhairle Dáil.

He had wished to stand for the party in local elections, seeking a seat on Wexford County Council. However, following a heated meeting in Wexford last week, he decided to resign from the party.

Previously, Fianna Fáil party members have always selected their own candidates at convention, but now all potential councillors are being chosen by a selection committee following an interview process. This includes existing members.

Mr. Kennedy had gone through the interview process once before, when Senator McDonald was appointed to the Seanad by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

That time the selection committee picked Wexford town's Fergie Kehoe to replace Senator McDonald, a decision which Mr. Kennedy says still rankles with the people of Piercestown, Murrintown and the wider area as Senator McDonald was selected as a County Councillor for that area, but was replaced with a town-based Councillor.

Mr. Kennedy said this time, before going to interview, he asked for an assessment on how he had done the last time. 'They just laughed at me and told me there's no such thing,' he said.

'If you go for any job interview you should be entitled to feedback,' said Mr. Kennedy.

'An interview is fine if it's a level playing field, but the consensus out there is that all things are not equal and there's too much outside interference. I feel the whip is being used a little too much in the party now. It's gone from democracy to dictatorship,' he said.

Mr. Kennedy joined Fianna Fáil 21 years ago when he said he was working in the Ferrycarrig Hotel and he was 'indoctrinated' into the party by the visiting Charlie Haughey.

He said the decision to resign from the party was a 'very tough' one, but he has received a lot of support in recent days. Mr. Kennedy has not ruled out standing as an independent candidate in the local elections next year.