Kilkenny Councillor to Chair National Seminar on future of Local Government in Ireland

Kilkenny County Councillor Pat Fitzpatrick will chair the Association of Irish Local Government’s National Seminar this week in Sligo where hundreds of City and County Councillors from across Ireland will gather to discuss the future of Ireland’s local government system.

The national event, entitled “The Future of Local Government in Ireland”, takes place on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th of September and will bring together esteemed councillors, government officials, international and national experts to discuss and evaluate the future of local government in Ireland.

Speaking in advance of the national seminar, President of the AILG, Cllr. Pat Fitzpatrick said that the conference will serve as a platform for in-depth discussions, knowledge sharing, and collaborative exploration of the challenges and opportunities facing local government in the country.

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“A strong democratic local government system is vital to promote the welfare and good government of the people of Ireland. In many respects the position of local government is weaker here in Ireland than in most other European countries. We have a more limited set of functions, represent a smaller share of the public commitment, and can only marginally influence the size of their resources. The

“Our National Training Seminar will concentrate on evaluating our current system of local government in Ireland and what steps need to be taken at local and national level to bring our local government system closer to European norms. Currently This will be a very important discussion in light of next year’s local elections and the new five-year council term that will commence from June 2024.”

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“The AILG acts as a networking, policy development and training resource for the 949 elected city and county councillors of Ireland’s 31 county and city councils. Our mission is to protect and support democratic local government and promote democratic leadership of our elected councillors and our local authorities. We are honoured to host this significant event in Sligo and to spearhead this important conversation on the future of local government here in Ireland.”

The event will be officially opened by Minister Kieran O’Donnell, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and closed by Minster Jack Chambers TD, Minister for Transport and Road Safety.

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Speakers will include Séan O'Rourke, Irish journalist and broadcaster, Dr. Gary Murphy, Professor of Politics in the School of Law and Government, DCU, Dr. Seán O’Riordáin, Chairman, Public Policy Advisors Network, Dr. Anders Lidström (Sweden) - Member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe Monitoring Group.