‘Ideal opportunity’ - moves made to establish 'Kilkenny City Council'
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As featured in the Kilkenny People newspaper
Could ‘Kilkenny City Council’ become an entity in the years to come? Well, that question proved divisive when raised as a notice of motion at the latest sitting of the Kilkenny City Municipal District.
Raised by Cllr David FitzGerald, the Fine Gael councillor argued the change would better reflect the city’s rich history and its growing role as a major economic, social and cultural hub.
Previously, Kilkenny City had its own borough council with its own set of powers to manage affairs in the area.
However, that was officially dissolved on June 1, 2014, under the Local Government Act 2014. Governance of Kilkenny City subsequently merged entirely into Kilkenny County Council, which established the Municipal District of Kilkenny City, which acts with limited powers in comparison to its predecessor.
The motion raised a mixed reaction from councillors, ultimately passing after a vote 4-3.
Cllr FitzGerald, a mayor during the lifespan of the defunct borough council in 2011, acknowledged there was an element of ‘window dressing’ but that it was ‘important window dressing.’
The local councillor told the meeting he believed now was the ‘ideal opportunity’ ahead of the municipal district’s return to the renovated Town Hall in 2027.
Former Fine Gael colleague, government minister and EU Commissioner, Phil Hogan was responsible for the abolition over a decade ago, with the local auctioneer revealing he voiced his disapproval of Mr Hogan’s actions at the time.
The then-Minister for the Environment abolished 80 town councils aimed at streamlining local administration powers. Frustrated councillors, past and present, have raised concerns periodically in the hope of its return.
“The abolition of borough and town councils was a political stroke that undermined local accountability,” former member of the Kilkenny Borough Council, Malcom Noonan previously told the Kilkenny People.
Councillors Eugene McGuinness and John Coonan voiced their support for the motion at Friday’s meeting held in County Hall.
Cllr McGuinness noted that while it was ‘window dressing’, it was important to take proactive action.
Meanwhile, Cllr John Coonan of Fianna Fáil lent his support to the motion but noted that most members of the public refer to the council and the mayor using the term ‘city’, rather than ‘municipal district’.
More Councillor Reaction to Follow...