An organisation representing county and city managers around Ireland has responded to government plans to cut back on local government costs by releasing its own report this week.
Recognising the added impetus to find an acceptable approach to funding local government due to current severe financial constraints in the public finances, Ned Gleeson, chairman of the County and City Managers Association (CCMA ) stated that considerable progress had been made in reducing expenditure and staff numbers in recent years but that critical staff levels must be maintained:
“We are committed to ongoing review of our work programmes with the dual aim of reducing costs while maintaining quality services to our customers. Reductions of €300m have been achieved in the last two years and 5,000 staff across all grades, including management levels, have left the local authority service. However, no two local authorities are the same and it continues to be the job of local managers to get it right.”
Mr Gleeson added there was always a need for a critical level of staff to maintain essential services and in many cases, local authority staff worked tirelessly to ensure that roads were kept open and essential services provided. In terms of achieving further reductions over time, he confirmed that managers will be working through the provisions of the Croke Park Agreement relating to staff numbers, flexibility, and redeployment.
On recommendations that some county and city areas be paired as “joint administrative areas”, to facilitate greater economies of scale, Mr Gleeson stated: “Local government system is a fundamental cornerstone of our democracy — not simply a branch of the public service. Therefore changing or reviewing areas for administrative purposes cannot be considered in isolation from the political process. Examples in other public sector areas do not suggest that divisions and separations lead to greater efficiencies or to more satisfaction in the delivery of services.”
The CCMA welcomed the proposed strengthening of local government through its involvement in other areas, such as county development boards and county enterprise boards, but questioned the claim that savings of more than €500 million could be achieved.
“Local government is a complex business and our services have a very immediate impact on our customers. Increasingly those customers have high expectations and expect high quality timely services. In some cases, our customer base has increased with the downturn in the economy, for instance in the demand for housing, while at the same time, demand for other services has declined. Compliance and health and safety issues also place onerous demands on scarce resources.
“As resources become more constrained, we have to strike the right balance, in conjunction with our elected members who understandably want the best for their locality. Many of the recommendations will require careful consideration and we look forward to working with all of the stakeholders at national and local levels in using the report as a blueprint for the way ahead.”
