Tag Archives: Local Government

Local government boundaries review

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The Minister for Environment and Local Government, John Gormley TD, last week announced the details of a commission to study existing boundaries and sizes for local area wards and report back by 20th June. The move was widely expected in political circles as there has been substantial population movement since the last review (1998) with resulting variances in the representation level of different areas. In other words some people have more councillors to go around than others.

The guidelines for the review state that the minimum number of councillors in any given ward should be four and that local boundaries should be kept in line with Dáil boundaries. The guidelines state that whilst the total number of councillors in any given authority should remain unchanged, areas and seats can be reshuffled across wards.

What this means for politicans and the electorate is as follows. Sitting councillors shall remain in situ until June next year when the next local elections are due to occur. Those elections will be fought on the basis of the new local areas and the revised number of seats in each.

Map of current Naas LEA
Map showing current wards within Naas LEA

The commission will be inviting submissions and I intend studying the various Kildare wards more thoroughly in the coming weeks, but my initial observations are as follows:

  • The Naas LEA is currently split across Kildare North and Kildare South Dáil constituencies. This means that electors (and councillors) end up dealing with two different sets of TDs, depending which end of the ward they are in, and would be due for revision according to the new guidlines.
  • The Ballymore/Kilcullen end of the Naas LEA is entirely in Kildare South and hence may be moved out of Naas and into an existing or newly created ward in the Kildare South constituency.
  • Caragh is in the same boat, as also in the Kildare South constituency, although arguably is more a natural hinterland of Naas, and may have an argument for remaining adjoined.
  • Sallins is on the cusp of three LEAs, namely Naas, Clane and Celbridge. It could conceivably move into Clane or at a push join up with Straffan/Ardclough for an expanded Celbridge ward.
  • Naas has five councillors currently which leaves it vulnerable to losing a councillor to a three-seater to satisfy the new minimal four-seater requirement.
  • The Naas LEA currrently has a very high ratio of councillors to constituents, (8329:1) putting it at almost double the national average (4916:1). This could allow it lose the Kildare South portion without needing to pick up elsewhere.

    • Unfortunately as the review effectively freezes the total number of councillors in each authority (in our case KCC) it does mean we will still have a higher than average variance, whatever way it pans out. In a nutshell this means Kildare people have less councillors to serve the same number of people as elsewhere. Anway, more on all this anon..

    Demographic Deficit of local government

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    Amidst all the furore over ministerial salaries of late, it is easy to overlook the great and grave ‘democratic deficit’ that persists at the level of local authorities.

    It remains very, very difficult for ‘ordinary citizens’ to take on the role of local office. Not so much getting elected, which is a challenge in itself financially and otherwise, but also the nature and demands of the position once one does make the cut.

    County Council business is conducted as an entirely day-time exercise, meetings of committees and sub-committees can stretch into many hours and days each month, all during “9-5” slots. Very few employments will allow this flexibility to come and go as the council demands, yet the annual stipend remains around €15,000 a year. Allowances and expenses can vary but for most representatives the job barely hits minimum wage.

    Áras Chill Dara
    Áras Chill Dara, home of Kildare County Council

    What all of this means is that certain occupations or the independently wealthy are disproportionately present in local office – the ordinary citizen must hold down a day job which is simply not compatible with conducting council business – particularly now in the modern era of commuting, with increasingly long hours and mortgages and childcare to boot.

    And so for the most part, the demographic of local ‘representatives’ remains neither representative of the population or of the real world.