The structure of local government must change fundamentally to achieve a greater participation rate in voting and the democratic process, Meath Labour Cllr Dominic Hannigan stated. Unless people felt involved with the Government of the country, they “became alienated and withdrawn” from the political process. As well as citing the decline in voter turnout Hannigan referred the recent decision by An Bord Pleanala to grant permission for 50 additional houses at Inse Bay, Laytown, despite the objections of over 200 residents.
Decisions such as these are a clear example of where changes are needed to local planning laws. Why should any citizen participate in local government if the feelings of so many can be summarily dismissed by government agencies, who are removed from the local environment? If we really want to get a higher level of citizens involved then the way to do so is to consult more and to act on the feedback. Consultation is only worthwhile if the feedback is acted on, otherwise it is a waste of everyone’s time. Local government structure must reflect this and must take on board the wishes of the local community.
Hannigan has a fair point about the way remote agencies of central government impose their will on local communities. Local citizens are bound to feel disaffected if their opinion seems to count for nothing. But sometimes the intervention of bodies like An Bord Pleanála might actually do something that corrects certain deficiencies in the local government process. Brendan Buck, whose An Irish Town Planner's Blog is a lively and informative source on planning-related matters, refers to The Bord's recent letter to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council raising concerns with the effect of recent planning decisions relating to high density residential development at Sandyford Industrial Estate. The upshot of this is that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council voted to accept the county manager's (Owen Keegan) proposal to develop an urban framework plan.
The modalities of the planning system and the fact that decisions are taken by professional planners rather than elected councillors arise from the need to keep the process free of corruption and local political expediency. It's not always easy to marry this essentially technocratic approach with the need for local democracy and accountability and the legitimacy that derives from this. Consultation is built into the process of adopting County Development Plans and Local Area Plans. Councils could do more to further this process using the tools of e-democracy. Hannigan is right to raise the concerns about the way local government functions but much could be done within the present structures if there was a willingness to seriously to look at developments in extending democracy and participation that are happening in locales elsewhere, notably in the US state of Minnesota.
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