Irish Planning Institute calls for greater role for regional authorities
Monday, August 06, 2007
Key planning issues such as urban sprawl, delays in infrastructure delivery and overzoning by local councils could be tackled better through a greater role for regional authorities, according to the Irish Planning Institute (IPI).
Calling for a radical review of the role of regional government, the Institute makes the case for directly elected Regional Senators and Regional Mayors arguing that current problems stem from the fact that the division of tasks between central and local government “leave a lot to be desired”.
The IPI, which represents over 700 of the 1,000 planners working in the public and private sectors in the country, maintains that the time is right to start a debate about the merits of more regional government in the light of the decision of the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr John Gormley TD, to review local government structures.
“On the one hand we have over-emphasis at national level on micromanagement of infrastructure and public projects, even those of local significance, and on the other hand an apparent lack of responsibility at local level for working towards national priorities and policies.
“Added to that there are a number of cities identified in the National Spatial Strategy as Gateway cities, that are close to county borders where it is difficult to achieve a coherent policies where more than one county council is affected (for example: Athlone, Waterford, Limerick).
“It would be more appropriate to move some functions from central government to a lower level while moving other functions from local level to a higher level. The regional tier of local government seems ideally placed to take on the strategic planning that the country needs.
“While the regional tier of local government has been in place for some time, it is relatively weak and has limited functions. Regional Planning Guidelines are merely advisory, and are often ignored at local level.
“By reconstructing the existing Regional Authorities into Regional Planning and Infrastructural Authorities and perhaps introducing directly-elected Regional Senators, and a directly elected Regional Mayor to head up the authority, a radical modernisation of Irish local government could be achieved.
A corps of administrative and professional staff would be provided on a full-time basis. Staff and elected members would work directly for, and govern, the regional authorities, and not be seconded from the county councils in the region, so that they would work solely in the best interests of the region as a whole.
“The functions of the regional authorities would include the adoption of strategic regional plans, which would be binding on the local authorities at county and sub-county level subject to periodic review/updating, and funding of all non-national infrastructure. This means a general devolution of funding allocation from central government by means of a general (non-itemised) block grant, to be spent at the discretion of the regional authority based on its regional plan.
“The boundaries of the Regional Authorities should be those of the current planning regions, with boundary alterations to reflect the hinterlands of Gateways (e.g. Drogheda to the DGDA, Athlone to the Midlands etc.)
“The IPI has already made its views known to the OECD review of the public service that is currently being undertaken.”