Cllrs address Seanad on need for stronger local government

The need for safety measures on the N51 and N52 in the Kells area was recently raised in the Seanad by local councillor Mike Bray

Meath Fianna Fáil councillors Mike Bray and Aisling Dempsey were among 32 councillors invited to speak at the Seanad Public Consultation Committee on the Future of Local Democracy.

Cllr Dempsey is a councillor in the Trim Municipal District, while Cllr Bray is a councillor in the Kells Municipal District and both were united in their views that local councils should be devolved of responsibilities from national government and that the removal of responsibilities from councillors in the areas of planning and housing were unhelpful and undermining the ability of local councillors to deliver on the needs of their constituents.

Cllr Bray took the opportunity to highlight issues such as state agencies hindering progress in our communities and cited as an example, the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII)'s lack of urgency in implementing road safety measures on the N51 and N52 through Athboy, Rathmore and Balrath.

He said: “This year there has been a spate of accidents on the N51 and N52 roads which cut through in my Kells constituency. As a councillor I am basically powerless to invoke the council to implement safety measures on these roads as Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are the responsible authority for national roads.

“I have had three motions passed at Municipal District level this year relating directly to the need for engagement from the TII on road safety. There has been no meaningful engagement and more importantly no new road safety measures put in place.

“On the N52 the local community of Balrath outside Kells have been impacted by car crashes on an almost weekly basis. While the communities in Athboy and Rathmore have seen a deluge of accidents this year with eight serious crashes since August alone.

“If central government are going to limit the powers of local government and delegate this role to bodies like the TII at the very least, we should have the power to compel some of their officials to meet with us to express the views and concerns of the local communities that we are so proud represent,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Cllr Dempsey spoke about demystifying local government to ensure its relevance to people’s daily lives is known. Her hope is that if people understand the role of the council and the councillor that it would encourage more diversity in candidates for next year’s local elections and beyond.

“We have not progressed a lot in terms of female and minority candidate numbers. The reality remains that the majority of councillors are male and the majority of candidates in Local Elections 2024 will be male and native Irish. This underlines the fact that extra efforts must be made to promote the work and role of a councillor to groups currently under represented on councils.

“This requires investment, rather than aspiration. Funding should be allocated to launch ‘outreach’ initiatives from the council, beginning at primary school level,” Cllr Dempsey told the Oireachtas Committee.

“You have to see it to be it as the saying goes, and councillors should be given the tools to be it, to attract others into the role. Transparency and removing the mystery around the role of councillors will help.

Mandatory webcasting of statutory meetings or other ways to communicate the business of the council to the public would help.”