The merger of a number of councils, including those of counties Carlow and Kilkenny, has been mooted in a new report on the efficiency of local government in Ireland.
Environment Minister John Gormley last week published a report from the Local Government Efficiency Review Group, which included a recommendation for ‘joint administrative areas’.
Under this proposal Kilkenny County Council and Carlow County Council would merge into one joint administrative area, with both local authorities sharing joint management structures under a single county manager.
The measures are aimed at achieving more efficient staffing levels within the various local authority bodies to reflect the population area the council serves.
The report recommends each joint administrative area should serve an area with a minimum population of 100,000 covering a maximum of two county councils. Together Kilkenny and Carlow currently have a population of 137,907.
The report suggests a number of factors, including population base, geography and ‘the fact that many of the proposed joint administrative areas historically shared a county manager’ were taken into account.
The merging of the councils primarily focuses on the joint delivery of corporate services, ie senior management, administration, customer service, IT, HR etc, meaning crucial service areas such as planning and housing could remain the remit of the local area authority although they will be expected to work in close cooperation.
“Managers will be expected simultaneously to manage two counties within a joint adminstrative area,” the report recommends.
“In addition to coporate services, the manager for each joint administrative area will also be expected to work towards achieving synergies and integration to the greatest extent possible in relation to the range of services performed by local authorities.
“There is an historical precedent for one manager being responsible for two counties, as several managers were responsible for more than one county in the past.”
The proposal would mean a slight decrease in staffing levels in the Carlow and Kilkenny area. The two county councils currently employ 899 staff, which equates to 6.52 staff members per 1,000 of the population, according to the report.
The review shows revised staffing levels at 884 under the joint adminstrative area, or 6.41 per 1,000 people. It would also see the percentage of staff employed in corporate areas fall from 16 per cent to 14.9 per cent.
“Staff released through efficiencies in the corporate areas would be available for redeployment elsewhere in the sector or beyond,” according to the report.
The proposal involves the amalgamation of 20 city and county councils, including North and South Tipperary, Waterford City and County, Laois and Offaly and Galway City and County, and would see the number of city and county managers reduced from 34 to 24.
The recommendations of the review group, nicknamed An Bord Snip, are under consideration by Minister Gormley and a final decision on the proposals will lie with the government, although no immediate decision is expected.
