Louth County Council accused of failing Drogheda amid calls for Borough council to be reinstated

Independent councillor for Drogheda Paddy McQuillan has accused Louth County Council of failing the town. 

It came at the February meeting of Drogheda Borough District during a motion from fellow Independent councillor Kevin Callan which called for the restoration of Drogheda Borough Council. 

During the debate, Cllr McQuillan said since the reform of local government in 2014, Drogheda has "gone backwards at 100 miles an hour...we've dereliction everywhere". 

"We’ve gone so backwards over the last few years, Louth County Council have failed Drogheda," he said. 

David Jones, Director of Services with Louth County Council rejected the claim and called for Cllr McQuillan to withdraw the comment. 

Cllr McQuillan refused to withdraw the statement. 

Independent councillor Declan Power agreed with Cllr McQuillan and said Drogheda has faced a "clear governance deficit" since the reforms. 

He said Drogheda does not have the governance structure to reflect its scale and ambition and said "decision making has become more distant and less visible." 

Cllr Power said the restoration of borough councils is not about nostalgia, but effective governance. He said the changes would be a practical and achievable step.

Read Next: Major boost for Drogheda and Dundalk in Living Cities Initiative

During the same debate, Cllr Callan called for a meeting with the relevant ministers, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris. 

He said Louth County Council has had to deal with the repercussions of the local government reformat, which he called "not a good piece of legislation at all". 

Cllr Callan called for meeting to take place after the Local Democracy Task Force report is published, which is due later this month. 

Labour councillor Pio Smith said the power lies with the Taoiseach, who he said "has indicated he interested in the restoration of Borough Councils". 

Sinn Féín councillors Debbie McCole said she supported the motion, but said she was "cautious of any moves to restore the borough council in its previous form", and said there needs to be a plan in place for the future.

Fellow Sinn Féin councillor Eric O'Donovan also offered his support for the motion, but said it should not just be a change in "pen or paper" and instead should restore the ability for councillors to have "more power and more control over our areas". 

Fine Gael councillor Ejiro O'Hare Stratton said the return of borough councils would be the first step towards autonomy and give back the town its own identity and heritage. 

Cllr O'Hare Stratton acknowledged the work of Louth County Council, but said it would give councillors a sense of their own accountability. 

"We can then go you're not delivering for us on our roads, on our housing, on our streets." 

Finally, Mayor of Drogheda, Cllr Michelle Hall also supported the motion, and said Ireland has the worst local democracy in Europe, only compared to Hungary, which she described as a "totalitarian state". 

However, Fianna Fáíl councillor James Byrne said the 2014 reforms are unlikely to change as "it's a relatively new concept", but said it could see a return of similar powers and structures of Borough Councils, "without actually doing a complete overhaul of districts". 

According to Cllr Smith, The Local Democarcy Task Force Report is set to be published on February 25th.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.