Local government in the Republic of Ireland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Local governmentin the Republic of Ireland |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Category | Unitary state |
| Location | Ireland |
| Number |
|
| Populations | 31,972 (County Leitrim) – 592,713 (Dublin city) |
| Areas | 54 km² (Galway city) – 7,468 km² (County Cork) |
| Government | Council government |
| Subdivisions | Municipal district Local electoral area |
Local government in the Republic of Ireland is all about how local areas are managed. It's mostly handled by 31 groups called local authorities. These are known as County Councils, City Councils, or City and County Councils.
These councils make important decisions for their areas. The people who make up these councils are chosen by you and other voters in local elections every five years. They are elected using a system called the single transferable vote, which helps make sure different voices are heard.
Even though elected members make decisions, many daily tasks are handled by special officials called Chief Executives. These are experienced people appointed to manage the council's work. Local councils look after things like planning new buildings, keeping roads in good shape, managing water and waste, providing fire services, and running public libraries. Each local authority also sends people to one of three Regional Assemblies to discuss bigger regional plans.
The rules for local government come from laws passed between 1925 and 2024. The most important one is the Local Government Act 2001. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 set up the system we mostly use today. In 1999, the Irish Constitution officially recognised local government for the first time. More recently, the Local Government Reform Act 2014 changed how things were organised. This law got rid of all town councils and merged some county councils. These changes started in 2014, just in time for the local elections that year.
Contents
How Local Government Started and Changed
Local government in Ireland has a long history, changing over many years to become what it is today.
Early Days of Local Government
The idea of dividing Ireland into counties for managing law and order started after the Norman invasion of Ireland. The last county, County Wicklow, was created in 1625. Over time, other local areas like baronies and grand juries were used for different purposes, but most of these old systems are not used anymore.
A big change happened in 1898 with the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. This law created a county council for each of Ireland's 33 administrative counties. It also set up special city councils, called county borough corporations, in six cities. Each county was then split into smaller urban and rural districts. Some towns kept their own town commissioners within these rural districts.
Changes Since 1922
When the Irish Free State was formed in 1922, it included 26 of Ireland's traditional counties. This meant 27 administrative counties and four county boroughs.
In 1925, most rural districts were removed, and the last ones in County Dublin were abolished in 1930.
In 1994, County Dublin and the area of Dún Laoghaire were divided into three new counties: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin. The country was also divided into eight Regional Authorities to help with planning.
The Local Government Act 2001 made the system simpler. It made county and city councils the main local government bodies across the whole country. It also changed the five county boroughs (Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford, and Limerick) into city councils, giving them the same legal standing as county councils. Smaller local groups like borough corporations and urban district councils were combined into town councils.
The Local Government Reform Act 2014 brought even more changes after the 2014 local elections:
- All town councils and borough councils were removed.
- Counties (outside Dublin) were divided into municipal districts. County councillors now also serve as district councillors.
- Some city and county councils merged. For example, Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council became Limerick City and County Council. The same happened with Waterford and Tipperary.
- Councillors lost the power to change planning decisions.
- Local services started to be funded by a property tax.
- The eight Regional Authorities were closed, and their jobs were given to the Regional Assemblies.
After these changes, cities and larger towns kept their special status even when they merged with counties. Some municipal districts that include cities or boroughs are now called "metropolitan districts" or "borough districts." They still have mayors. In other councils, the leader is called a "Cathaoirleach" (which means Chairperson). Each municipal district received a new official document outlining its powers.
In 2019, people in Limerick voted to have a directly elected mayor for Limerick City and County Council. This will be the first time in Ireland that a mayor is chosen directly by the public, with the first election happening in June 2024.
Ireland's County and City Councils
Here's a look at the different local authorities across Ireland:
| Region | Local authority | Population (2022) |
Area (km2) |
Population density | Head office | Title of Chair | Number | Resident per member | Regional Assembly members | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern and Midland | Eastern and Midland | 2,529,358 | ||||||||
| Dublin City Council | 588,233 | 118 | 5,002 | Dublin | Lord Mayor | 63 | 9,337 | 7 | D | |
| Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council | 233,457 | 127 | 1,840 | Dún Laoghaire | Cathaoirleach | 40 | 5,836 | 3 | D | |
| Fingal County Council | 329,218 | 453 | 727 | Swords | Mayor | 40 | 8,230 | 3 | D | |
| Kildare County Council | 246,977 | 1,694 | 146 | Naas | Cathaoirleach | 40 | 6,174 | 3 | KE | |
| Laois County Council | 91,657 | 1,720 | 53 | Portlaoise | Cathaoirleach | 19 | 4,824 | 2 | LS | |
| Longford County Council | 46,634 | 1,091 | 43 | Longford | Cathaoirleach | 18 | 2,591 | 2 | LD | |
| Louth County Council | 139,100 | 832 | 167 | Dundalk | Cathaoirleach | 29 | 4,797 | 2 | LH | |
| Meath County Council | 220,296 | 2,335 | 94 | Navan | Cathaoirleach | 40 | 5,507 | 3 | MH | |
| Offaly County Council | 82,668 | 1,990 | 42 | Tullamore | Cathaoirleach | 19 | 4,351 | 2 | OY | |
| South Dublin County Council | 299,793 | 223 | 1,344 | Tallaght | Mayor | 40 | 7,495 | 3 | D | |
| Westmeath County Council | 95,840 | 1,825 | 53 | Mullingar | Cathaoirleach | 20 | 4,792 | 2 | WH | |
| Wicklow County Council | 155,485 | 2,033 | 76 | Wicklow | Cathaoirleach | 32 | 4,859 | 3 | WW | |
| Northern and Western | Northern and Western | 900,937 | ||||||||
| Cavan County Council | 81,201 | 1,932 | 42 | Cavan | Cathaoirleach | 18 | 4,511 | 2 | CN | |
| Donegal County Council | 166,321 | 4,860 | 34 | Lifford | Cathaoirleach | 37 | 4,495 | 3 | DL | |
| Galway City Council | 83,456 | 53 | 1,575 | Galway | Mayor | 18 | 4,636 | 2 | G | |
| Galway County Council | 192,995 | 6,100 | 32 | Galway | Cathaoirleach | 39 | 4,949 | 3 | G | |
| Leitrim County Council | 35,087 | 1,589 | 22 | Carrick-on-Shannon | Cathaoirleach | 18 | 1,949 | 2 | LM | |
| Mayo County Council | 137,231 | 5,588 | 25 | Castlebar | Cathaoirleach | 30 | 4,574 | 3 | MO | |
| Monaghan County Council | 64,832 | 1,296 | 50 | Monaghan | Cathaoirleach | 18 | 3,602 | 2 | MN | |
| Roscommon County Council | 69,995 | 2,548 | 27 | Roscommon | Cathaoirleach | 18 | 3,889 | 2 | RN | |
| Sligo County Council | 69,819 | 1,838 | 38 | Sligo | Cathaoirleach | 18 | 3,879 | 2 | SO | |
| Southern | Southern | 1,693,241 | ||||||||
| Carlow County Council | 61,931 | 898 | 69 | Carlow | Cathaoirleach | 18 | 3,441 | 2 | CW | |
| Clare County Council | 127,419 | 3,442 | 37 | Ennis | Cathaoirleach | 28 | 4,551 | 2 | CE | |
| Cork City Council | 222,333 | 198 | 1,123 | Cork | Lord Mayor | 31 | 7,172 | 2 | C | |
| Cork County Council | 358,898 | 7,281 | 49 | Cork | Mayor | 55 | 6,525 | 5 | C | |
| Kerry County Council | 155,258 | 4,735 | 33 | Tralee | Cathaoirleach | 33 | 4,705 | 3 | KY | |
| Kilkenny County Council | 103,685 | 2,072 | 50 | Kilkenny | Cathaoirleach | 24 | 4,320 | 2 | KK | |
| Limerick City and County Council | 205,444 | 2,760 | 74 | Limerick | Mayor | 40 | 5,136 | 3 | L | |
| Tipperary County Council | 167,661 | 4,304 | 39 | Clonmel & Nenagh | Cathaoirleach | 40 | 4,192 | 3 | T | |
| Waterford City and County Council | 127,085 | 1,859 | 68 | Waterford | Mayor | 32 | 3,971 | 2 | W | |
| Wexford County Council | 163,527 | 2,365 | 69 | Wexford | Cathaoirleach | 34 | 4,810 | 3 | WX | |
| Ireland | 5,123,536 | 70,182 | 73 | 949 | 5,399 | |||||
How Local Government is Funded
Local councils need money to provide services. In the past, they struggled to get enough funds after a tax on homes, called domestic property rates, was removed in the late 1970s. This led to charges for things like water and rubbish collection, but these were not very popular.
Now, a lot of funding comes from the Department of Finance, which is part of the national government. Councils also get money from taxes on businesses and factories, housing rents, and other service charges. This means local government in Ireland relies a lot on the national government for money.
Many experts have suggested bringing back some form of local tax. In 2012, a new agency was set up to help collect charges like the Home Charge and a proposed water charge.
Since 1999, money from motor tax goes into a special fund for local government. This money is then given out based on what each council needs. In 2013, a local property tax was introduced to help fund local authorities.
What Local Councils Do
Over the years, local government has given up some control over services to national and regional groups. For example, local control over education mostly moved to special boards. Also, in 1970, local government stopped being in charge of health services.
The National Roads Authority now oversees major national road projects. However, local authorities still maintain the smaller, non-national roads. Waste management has also changed a lot, with more focus on protecting the environment and recycling.
In 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency was created to help protect the environment across the country. Another group, An Bord Pleanála, now handles many planning decisions.
There's also been a trend to move decision-making from elected councillors to full-time professionals and officials. Each city and county has a manager, who is the chief executive. This person is a public servant appointed by a national service, so they answer to both the local council and the national government. This means that local decisions can sometimes be influenced by national politics, not just local needs.
Today, local government bodies are responsible for important things like:
- Planning new buildings and developments.
- Maintaining local roads.
- Managing sanitation (like water and waste).
- Running public libraries.
The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government is the government minister in charge of local authorities and their services. As one chief executive said, local authorities have two main jobs: they represent the people, and they also manage public services.
