Dr. Deiric Ó Broin deiric.obroin@dcu.ie The activation agenda and local government Some done, more being done, a bucket load to do - Institutional and cultural challenges facing local government Dr. Deiric Ó Broin deiric.obroin@dcu.ie

Key challenges I Centralisation ‘Intensive centralisation since the 1920s has been a ghastly failure, with central government sinking into a sludge of detailed business that clogs channels of decision, swamps strategic issues, frustrates initiatives and bureaucratises the whole’ - TJ Barrington, Institute of Public Administration, 1990.

Key challenges II Lack of institutional recognition/respect ‘I am directed to Mr. Blythe to state that from his knowledge of the work done by Macroom District Council, he does not consider that any important public interests will suffer as a result of its refusal to fucntion’ - Ernest Blythe’s reply in 1923 to Macroom Rural District Council’s threat not to function until Republican prisoners in Mountjoy had been released.

Key challenges III Narrow range of competences Bogs, bins and burials + Changing but slowly and not always towards devolving power and competences ……

Key challenges IV Limited fund/tax raising powers Irish local authorities have the narrowest range of tax raising powers in the 28 EU members states. Even when they have some tax raising powers: Dublin city councillors vote for 15% cut in LPT rate (RTE.ie) Councillors vote to keep Local Property Tax at the same rate for 2017 (Leinster Express) Galway County Council votes to increase property tax (RTE.ie)

Change comes slowly … The UK’s Local Government Act of 1972 effectively wiped away everything that had gone before, and built an administrative system from scratch. All previous administrative districts - statutory counties, administrative counties, county boroughs, municipal boroughs, counties corporate, civil parishes - were abolished, with the exceptions of Greater London and the Isles of Scilly. Sounds familiar? It also established the role of Economic Development Officers

But change does come … Critical to recognise the institutional and cultural context in which change is expected. Big questions remain: Can Ireland leapfrog certain issues? Can political culture change? Does the institutional capacity, local and nationally, exist to facilitate and implement change?