Electoral Commission
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-15
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John Cummins (FG), Waterford

At the outset, I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for raising this important issue this morning. I am acutely aware of the strong interest that exists within this House in matters relating to local government. Members have consistently demonstrated their commitment to strengthening local democracy and supporting local authorities in their vital role.
As Minister of State with responsibility for local government and a former councillor for many years, I greatly value and appreciate the ongoing advocacy and engagement that comes from all sides of this Chamber. I am conscious that the establishment of the local democracy task force was a key recommendation arising from the Seanad Public Consultation Committee's report on the future of local democracy, which was published last year. In that context, I welcome the opportunity to address the House and to provide an update on the progress made today in advancing that recommendation and strengthening local democracy more generally.
The local democracy task force was established in June of last year as a key commitment under the programme for Government, with a broad and ambitious mandate set out in its terms of reference. The work of the task force built on the substantial body of research and analysis already undertaken in this area, including the Seanad Public Consultation Committee's report on the future of local democracy and important contributions from the Association of Irish Local Government and the Council of Europe on the powers, function and responsibilities of local government. The task force was charged with delivering its report within the challenging timeframe of six to nine months. However, considerable preparatory work already completed across the sector provided a strong foundation and enabled that timeline to be achieved.
The task force, as the Senator rightly pointed out, was chaired by Mr. Jim Breslin, a distinguished former senior public servant. Its membership reflected a broad range of expertise and perspectives, including representatives of elected members, local authority executives, the National Oversight and Audit Commission, the Local Government Audit Service and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, as well as a number of independent experts. To ensure a structured and comprehensive examination of the issues, the task force was organised under four work themes: structures, funding, functions and governance and accountability within the local government sector. Dedicated pillar groups, comprising subject matter experts with extensive practical experience, provided detailed, evidence-based analysis that advised to inform the development of the task force recommendations.
In total, more than 50 individuals contributed to this work through the task force and its pillar groups. The task force itself met on nine occasions, while the pillar groups collectively met on more than 40 occasions, demonstrating a significant commitment of time and expertise. Meaningful stakeholder engagement was at the heart of the process. Engagement took place with a wide range of organisations and representative bodies, including employer and employee representatives, community and voluntary organisations, academic experts and other key stakeholders. The task force also invited submissions from political parties and the wider sector and it met with representatives of this House, resulting in a very strong level of participation and engagement. This extensive consultation process provides a strong basis for confidence that the recommendations reflect not only the views and experience of the local government sector itself but also those of communities, organisations and citizens who depend on local authorities for their everyday services.
The Senator specifically raised the matter of the boundary review. This was a matter that was considered as part of the local democracy task force. It was asked to take account of and consider options for a future framework for reviewing numbers and in doing so, to take account of significant population growth since 2014. As has been confirmed by the Minister, Deputy Browne and I on a number of occasions, that final report was submitted to us and we are carefully considering the recommendations, with the implementation at a very advanced stage and due to go before Government as soon as possible.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:16+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-15