Sir, – I agree with Paul Gethings (Letters, April 1st) that we need city officials like Owen Keegan to lead on difficult issues and have defended and supported the chief executive of Dublin City Council on many occasions when it was not popular to do so.
However, the problem comes when officials have unaccountable power on actions that have not been determined by the elected representatives of the people. When we get that balance right – officials working with the elected councillors who are working in and with their local communities – we can achieve a lot. Our present system that leaves huge powers in the hands of the executive is the cause of much our problems. As with so much else, local government reform can transform Ireland.
Perhaps that is why those who actually have the power in the Oireachtas and the Custom House don’t want change. – Yours, etc,
DERMOT LACEY,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.