Councillors reject Offaly/Laois council merger plans

Councillor Noel Bourke (FF) said there was no way he'd support a single county council unit for both Offaly and Laois, however he thinks that having one county manager for both authorities could work. "There's a total of 106 recommendations contained in the report and a number are very worthy of consideration and a number of others I'd have a big problem with," he said. "The Offaly and Laois county units have worked well in the past and are far more effective, I'd be slow to go down that road. However efficiency regarding services such as payroll and procurements could be in one central location... One county unit would not work but one county manager could look after both." However, Cllr Bourke said that the group's review was only that, and no decisions would be made before the White Paper on Local Government Reform was published. "The White Paper on Local Government Reform was due to be published before the summer break, but now it will probably be in the autumn. We'll have to see what's in it. Both sides will have to be realistic and look at the practicalities before deciding. The Green Party will have to look at things in a pragmatic and realistic way," Cllr Bourke added. "If you lose your county council, you lose your identity," said Fine Gael Cllr Tommy McKeigue, who is a town and county councillor. He pointed out that people in South Offaly were still unhappy that part of the county had been moved into North Tipperary as part of the redrawing of electoral boundaries. "I think any town without a town council hasn't moved forward. Town Councillors are on the ground and they are in the know. It's the wrong way to go... Town councillors are more accessible to the business community, the chamber and people who need housing. If you have a bureaucracy you won't get that service." He added that if planning at town council level was merged with the county council, there would still be the same number of staff, so there would be no financial saving.