Bringing Republicanism to the Councils

BY Justin Moran

Councillor Pauline Tully McCauley

Service charges and their impact on local communities dominated the National Elected Representatives Conference held on local government financing in the 26 Counties in Dublin last Saturday.

Over 50 councillors from across the State came to listen, learn and to educate each other about the difficulties funding local services in one of the most underfunded local government systems in Western Europe.

Chairing the conference, Cavan Councillor Pauline Tully McCauley welcomed councillors before introducing long-serving Monaghan Councillor Brian McKenna, who took councillors through the annual budgeting and estimates process, a discussion found most useful by those councillors who are the sole Sinn Féin representatives on their local authorities.

Poll-topping new councillor Matt Carthy outlined the importance of using the Estimates and the budgeting debate as an opportunity for campaigning and for making the republican case. Presenting an alternative at a national level to establishment politics must be mirrored by bringing the republican socialist analysis to the Council Estimates debate.

How to present that alternative dominated the rest of the discussion, with Cllr Andrew O'Connell from Dublin and Cllr Anthony Kelly from Wexford both raising the contentious issue of Bin Charges and the need for a co-ordinated approach to the issue across the 26 Counties. In many parts of the country, however, the waste collection services have been privatised by right-wing parties and the issue is not of the same urgency.

Kerry Councillors Cathal Foley and Toiréasa Ní Fhearaíosa pointed out that in some local authority areas, there was a stark choice between supporting service charges, indeed voting for them to be increased and on the other hand by not doing so opening them up for privatisation.

Cllr David Cullinane from Waterford responded by putting the blame for privatisation squarely on Management and arguing that Sinn Féin councillors should not allow themselves to be blackmailed into supporting the Estimates in the face of the threat of privatisation.

A number of alternative solutions were suggested. In a detailed paper on local government funding, Arthur Morgan TD pointed to the fact that Government spending on local government amounts to 10% of total spending, far below that of other European states and a target of 20% by 2009 should be set.

Cllr Dessie Ellis raised the issue of the exemption of State occupied buildings from rates, costing Dublin City Council alone over €20 million. He also pointed to a Hotel Bed Tax of €2 a night as another source of income that would ensure visitors to Ireland paid for availing of local authority services.

The councillors also heard a political update from Party Chairperson Mitchel McLaughlin about the ongoing negotiations with the two governments and the DUP, as well as the position the party is taking on recent comments from Fianna Fáil around coalition in the future.