Letter to Editor – Local Government Reform
The Editor
Letters Page
Southside People
Dear Editor,
I have no wish to get involved in the internal affairs of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, but Mairead Mehigan, Chairperson Dun Laoghaire An Taisce (letters SouthSide People) should not get too downhearted by their failure to secure places on the new Strategic Policy Committees.
Sadlly, far from these Committees being the engines of activity, delivery and a reformed Local Government system, they are in fact part of the deliberate downgrading of Local Government itself, engineered by a Department of State hostile to every one of the adjectives in its title, “Environment, Heritage and Local Government”.
Of course we need real Local Government in Ireland and we need the involvement of organisations such as An Taisce. However the mirage of “reform” of Strategic Policy Committees, Corporate Policy Groups and City and County Development Boards forced through by the bureacrats in the Custom House are not the answer.
Instead of arguing for the limited places available on largely irrelevant SPC’s An Taisce should join with those of us committed to real Local Government reform with as an immdiate step a cross-council elected Dublin Regional Authority and a directly elected Mayor for all Dublin.
Yours sincerely,
Councillor Dermot Lacey
