Sir, – I welcome the Editorial (November 6th) regarding the proposed reorganisation of local government in Ireland. Real reform is desperately needed and something I have campaigned for very many years.
However, in many cases the greatest obstacle to publicising the need for such reform was The Irish Times itself. Repeatedly, in your pages, commentary on the issue and related matters was confined to armchair spectators and academics far removed from the realities of local government. Recent debates on the property tax and the household charge was the most obvious example of that.
Ireland cannot be reformed if we do not seriously reform local government. The Irish Times could play its part by reporting on the realities confronted by councillors every day of the week in a system that is dysfunctional and is deliberately so. In order to do that, The Irish Times would have to start giving some attention to those of us “do” local government and not just those who preach and write about it. It would be a welcome change. RTÉ please copy. – Yours, etc,