Galway report on how to strengthen local authorities to be delivered by February
Recommendations made to strengthen local authorities through the Local Democracy Taskforce will make their way across the desk of the local government and planning minister early next year.
Fine Gael Galway County Councillor Jimmy McClearn, who also serves as Vice President of the Association of Irish Local Government (AILG) and sits on this taskforce, provided an update to the elected members at a council meeting this month.
During the meeting, Cllr McClearn said that the LDT will be compiling recommendations to “address the imbalance between the department and the local authority.”
A consultation process ran from July 8 to August 22, with 56 of the 87 invited stakeholders making submissions. A further four were accepted outside that timeframe. All submissions have since been published.
The report containing all recommendations is due to be delivered to the minister by the beginning of February 2026.
"As we go things will fall out and things will come in. We have very clear views about the type of things we would like see come of this report.” Cllr McClearn told the Irish Independent.
The taskforce was established in June 2025, with the first meeting already shaping recommendations for reform and a stronger local government.
Its remit is to provide advice to the local government and planning minister, James Browne, within six to nine months, based on public submissions and internal discussion.
The group is split into four subcommittees, structure, finance, functions, and governance/accountability, to focus its work.
“It is only a taskforce and whatever recommendations we come up with, it will be up to the minister to implement all or some of them,” Cllr McClearn said.
Cllr McClearn added that he was “suspicious” of how the department would view the report, pointing to a Council of Europe study that ranked Irish local authorities at the bottom, second to Hungary.
Despite the poor ranking overall, Ireland ranked largest average local authority size, geographic jurisdiction and representation per person in some counties.
Leas Cathaoirleach Cllr Mary Hoade, who has been nominated to the Governance and Accountability subgroup said she is eager to look at strengthening the municipal districts as well as the roles and powers of elected members throughout the years.
Both councillors agreed they would be in a stronger position to update colleagues this winter, once there is progress on which recommendations are being taken forward.