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MINISTER PHIL HOGAN is to bring his reforms of local government services to Cabinet tomorrow.
The Minister for the Environment is expected to include reforms that follow from recommendations given by the Mahon Tribunal final report. In the Irish Times, Stephen Collins says these include removing section 140 of the Local Government Act, which would mean councillors wouldn’t be able to direct officials in relation to planning functions.
A spokesperson from the Department of the Environment would not confirm the details of any of the proposed reforms. However, he did say that the Irish Independent report of a cut of 500 council staff was not related to the Minister’s Local Government reforms, and was most likely related to the Croke Park Agreement.
Mahon Tribunal
Under the Mahon Tribunal recommendations, to help improve transparency where planning permission is granted:
…the power of the elected members to direct the Manager to grant planning permission in a specific case should be subject to increased restrictions.
This would include that those members of local authorities who direct the Manager to grant planning permission against the advice of the professional planners, should have to explain their reasons for doing so.
The Mahon Tribunal was an inquiry into planning and payments to various parties, and made a number of recommendations in order to combat political corruption.
In the Irish Independent, Fionnan Sheahan says that the reforms are also likely to include merging town and county councils, removing town councillor roles and redrawing the electoral map of every county.
Speaking in July at the MacGill summer school, Hogan said the programme of reforms – to be called ‘Putting People First’ – would introduce:
significant changes to regional, county, city and town governance.
He also said that it was extremely likely that he will be cutting the number of councillors and the number of authorities. Hogan had already confirmed plans to merge the separate county councils for North and South Tipperary, and has steered legislation to see the separate county and city councils in Limerick merged. Both pairs of councils will merge in 2014.
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Once should be put on first plane out of country once finished his time
@KevinMunster: Racist because he wants a thug deported. Are you for real
@KevinMunster: What is racist about deporting the bad bollix.
@Celtic_Horizon: should be thrown out of the plane over the Atlantic you mean ,but dont let the bleeding heart nut jobs know
@Ciaran Kehoe: Racist are you fu€k!ng kidding me. Your talking to irish man born in uk who has lived in usa. And believe me I have gotten more greaf from my own kin than I did from brits or yanks. But lets be clear I believe that anyone that isn’t irish causing trouble should be kicked out as I do any Irish living in other countries, if they are booted out should be sent home although if there plane found it’s plane landed in Siberia it wouldn’t be worst thing to happen. Toss pot
@Celtic_Horizon: sorry aimed at KevinMunster
Who could have predicted a man with multiple previous convictions in multiple different countries would commit crime in our country? Keep that door open! #criminalswelcome
Nothing works better than a ‘warning shot’ straight into the mush.
@Paul Culligan: You honestly couldnt make it up, think of the amount of money this investiagation cost the state after a shaky garda with a gun!
@Paul Culligan: He probably sang like a canary after that.
Freedom of movement seems to have as many minuses as advantages..hard to believe criminal gangs can move about Europe so freely
@Kieran OKeeffe: freedom of movement ensures the easy Islamisation ,whatever percentage of Muslims involved ,of the west. Don’t believe me ? Check out western Europe today and the census
@ Kieran this has f*ck all to do with Islam! Gee you must see Islam in everything, this article is about ram raiders… Did you need read the article?
Stop hyping up the threat of Islamic extremism, it’s all hype and the media are just as much to blame for hyping it up and the extremists themselves
With several prior convictions for theft in Holland and Norway, how or why was he ever allowed into Ireland? Seriously searching for an answer to this simple question.
How about a worldwide rule that criminals are not allowed to travel?
It would help to stop people making the choice to become a criminal.
@Scundered: He wouldn’t get into Australia or Canada anyway based on the border security shows I’ve seen.
Likewise he probably wouldn’t get into the uk once they brexit and start to pull up the plank..
How do you weigh a car with a concrete block? :/
5 year jail sentence, out in 3 for good behaviour. More nonsense from Tom O’Donnell, another joke of a judge.
Euthanasia is the answer to this guy!
I didn’t know trannies and cross dressers were so desperate to get their fix.
GET RID OF HIM
have your say