Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 June 2026
185. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he intends reforming local government to give more powers to democratically elected councillors as opposed to council management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48202/26]
View answerThe Local Democracy Taskforce, a key commitment in the Programme for Government, was established in July 2025 with the purpose of bringing forward a suite of reforms across the Local Government Sector. The Taskforce, as part of its work programme considered the Structures, Functions, Funding and Governance & Accountability arrangements currently in practice across the sector with a view to bringing forward reforms in these areas. In its work on Governance & Accountability the Taskforce was asked to develop proposals to rebalance the power between elected councillors and the executive.
The Local Democracy Taskforce presented its final report to me on 4 March 2026. A key consideration by the Taskforce when considering its Terms of Reference was that the recommendations made would be made in a manner that would allow for the successful implementation of the recommendations.
An implementation plan is currently being drafted with a view to bringing the report and implementation to plan to Government for consideration shortly. Following this, the report and implementation plan will be published and the process of implementing the reform policy ultimately agreed by Government will commence.
