A Chara, - Cllr Dermot Lacey (November 29th) accurately points to the lack of power of Irish local authorities, particularly the power to raise their own resources.
I echo his call. Local government in Ireland will continue to lack credibility as long as it fails to have its own local resource base. No matter how Noel Dempsey tinkers with the system when it comes to elected mayors or council chairs or devolving power, if local government is still centrally funded and its powers of local revenue generation and expenditure remain limited, no real change will occur.
We need to move towards a system of equitable local taxes, offset against national taxation. Local communities will see what they are paying directly and will take more interest in how it is spent. Those who use local authority services should pay for them, ensuring they are used in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way. I look forward to Cllr Lacey advancing such arguments at Dublin Corporation and I wish him support when he proposes the first step in that process - the introduction of domestic refuse service charges. His local authority is now one of only a handful that has yet to adopt this approach of own-resource funding. - Is mise,
Malcolm Byrne, Gorey Town Commissioner, Ramsfort Avenue, Gorey, Co Wexford.