A North Tipperary based County Councillor is beginning to think it may be better to revert back to two separate local authorities in the Premier County.
Following the recommendation from the Electoral Boundaries Commission that for General Elections Tipperary would have two constituencies Councillor Seamie Morris says maybe consideration should be given to have two County Councils as well.
The Nenagh based independent says there are a number of reasons for this.
“I would have told you a couple of months ago that that would be a ridiculous proposition. But the fact of the matter is we’re in two different health regions, Tipperary is divided into two new water regions by Irish Water which has gone very much under the radar and also the fact that Tipperary is such a long county – I’m not sure that a council with 40 members is working.
“I’m actually thinking now it would be best to have two councils in Tipperary – okay we can work together. There’s groups that can work together for tourism and stuff like that but we have no chance of making the full County Council work.”
Councillor Morris has also hit out at plans to fund 14 additional TDs and have Mayoral elections in our major cities.
He says this will cost €2.3 million while local government remains toothless and useless.
He told Tipp FM that County Councillors have been left with little or no power.
“Unfortunately in 2014 Alan Kelly and Phil Hogan decided to destroy local government by taking away the Town Councils and Borough Councils – amalgamating seven councils into one in Tipperary and giving full control of the running of local government to unelected CEOs. They have become more and more powerful and Councillors have become less and less powerful with decisions being made without even telling Councillors now at this stage.”
