ENNIS town council could once again return to Clare’s largest settlement after a proposal by the Minister for Housing.
Town councils in Ennis, Kilrush and Shannon were abolished following the passing of the Local Government Reform Act in 2014.
Minister James Browne (FF) has indicated that the government will move to set up municipal councils in towns around the country, proposing that the councils be in place in time for the next cycle of local elections in 2029. The decision was recommended following a report by the Local Democracy Taskforce following its findings that the organisations should be reintroduced.
The report also recommended that new council oversight and governance committees be established in order to hold chief executives to greater accountability and gauge the performance of local authorities.
Following the 80 councils’ abolitions in 2014, the number of elected representatives in areas such as Clare was greatly reduced as local authorities such as Clare County Council received a greater deal of power and decision making.
An Taoiseach Micheál Martin has previously spoke enthusiastically about their reintroduction, stating “It will be of benefit to elected councillors and will give them a greater degree of powers. It’s important that when the people elect councillors that they have the decision-making capacity, in the local context, to get things done for their communities”.
The newly proposed municipal councils would differ from previous town councils as they would feature greater representation in line with population. An upcoming review of LEAs is due to decide the exact number of municipal councils and could potentially see an increase in the number of elected representatives in Clare and across the country. These changes are in line with the current programme for government set out following the 2024 general election, which pledged to strengthen the role of local government in Ireland.
Former Mayors of Clare towns reacted furiously to then Minister Phil Hogan’s decision to scrap the councils with former Mayor of Shannon Mike Flemming (FG) referring to Hogan as “Scrooge” when plans were first announced in 2012. The history of Ennis Town Council had stretched back over 400 years when it was stood down with many elected officials in the county town expressing dismay at the government’s decision.
Should the authorities be successfully reintroduced as a part of government, they would present a number of advantages and disadvantages. Clare’s electorate would have access to a larger number of cllrs in order to advance projects however there is an added risk of local government lacking streamlining and becoming overly bureaucratic.
