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Saturday 30 September 2023 Dublin: 15°C

# councils

Last month
August 2023
Just 82 dog fouling fines were handed out by local councils in 2022
The National Council for the Blind of Ireland are calling on dog owners to clean up after their pets.
This year
2023
Councils identify over 1,500 vacant and derelict properties to be bought up
The price tag of the properties comes in at €437 million.
Dozens more inspectors needed to tackle the 'wicked problem' of farm water pollution
The report found there to be just 11 full-time equivalent council staff for farm inspections across the country.
FG councillor taking legal advice as she claims council is 'blocking' broadcasting meetings
A vote taken in 2021 saw Laois County Council approve providing finances for livestreaming its meetings.
Last year
2022
Councils to secure proportion of any land value increase arising from residential zoning decisions
Land value increases when planning decisions are made to zone land, with the uplift going to the landowners or developers, but not to the State.
Council criticised by auditor for not recovering €700k bill for clearing ex-mayor's landfill
Declan Doocey, a Fine Gael councillor, served as Mayor of Waterford City and County between 2018 and 2019.
Councils that can deliver rapid-build houses on sites will have land debt paid off
Local authorities are currently carrying around €309 million of land legacy debt.
Councils identify 89 State-owned buildings to immediately house over 5,000 Ukrainian refugees
A total of 25,383 refugees have arrived in the country as of last night.
All time
A useful guide to Ireland's planning system and how to have your say on proposed developments
News of two developments brought the system into focus again this week.
Councillors to be bypassed with transfer of local authority lands to State agency without council vote
The State agency is tasked to fully utilise state lands to build affordable homes.
'Chronic lack of supply' of affordable homes outside Dublin, warns homelessness charity
The latest report from the Simon Communities reveals the lack of affordable housing across the country.
NTA allocates €55m to councils to enhance cycling and walking infrastructure
The funding was allocated under the July Jobs Stimulus Plan announced by the government last month.
The tax to try prevent property owners from hoarding land was only collected by 1 in 8 councils last year
There was over €2 million outstanding due to councils under the vacant site levy at the beginning of this year.
The two 'most transparent' councils in Ireland are in Dublin
Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council have topped a new index of the country’s 31 local authorities.
Women represent less than 6% of seats on some councils - how does your council fare on gender?
Sinn Féin and Solidarity-People Before Profit were the only parties to see a decrease in the number of female elected candidates.
All to play for as first European election counts announced
Stick with us as we bring you the latest updates all evening and into the night.
Petition accusing councils of cutting down too many trees reaches over 5,500 signatures
The petition wants councils to stop cutting down trees in public spaces without informing the public.
The myth of the free council house: 'We're not just handing them over, that would be crazy'
Dublin City Council tenants paid a total of €78.3 million in rent last year.
Call to tackle 'significant underrepresentation' of women in senior council roles
Just under three in 10 Chief Executive (28%) and Director of Services (26%) roles in local authorities nationally are held by women.
Dublin councils plan to install public water fountains to reduce use of plastic bottles
Dublin City Council has said it aims to install water refill stations at areas of “high pedestrian footfall”.
Number of councils to vote on who they endorse for the presidential election
Presidential hopefuls must secure the support of four local authorities, or 20 TDs and senators to stand in the election.
Council by council: An extra 118,000 people have registered to vote ahead of tomorrow's referendum
More than 3.2 million people are now registered to vote in tomorrow’s referendum.
Pro-life groups secured access to the names and addresses of Irish voters ahead of the referendum
An investigation by TheJournal.ie and OpenDemocracy has found that at least two pro-life groups have applied for copies of the register for different local authorities.
Galway City Council is the local authority with the most integrity
Transparency International Ireland said even the highest ranking councils in its index have work to do.
A mixed bag for May and Corbyn while UKIP vote obliterated in English local elections
Both the Tories and Labour had lost a set of key councils, but had made gains in overall numbers.
Why councils will soon be fining themselves for owning vacant housing sites
The vacant sites levy was introduced to free up land for homes.
Dublin County Council rejects planning permission for apartments as being "visually unacceptable"
The country’s biggest private landlord, Ires Reit, wanted to build the units at Sandyford in Dublin.
'Dr Seuss or a librarian in Cashel?': Council workers are having the craic on Twitter today
‘Our Council Day’ has been showcasing the work of firefighters, librarians and other behind-the-scenes employees.
Ireland's local authorities are over €4 billion in debt
Minister Simon Coveney says he doesn’t believe that any of the loans are unsustainable.
On the eve of election, government ploughs €10 million into making sure estates are looked after
The money will be used to streamline the ‘taking in charge’ process.
Polluted water kills "extensive" amount of fish in Limerick
The incident is thought to have killed an “extensive” number of fish.
Only two of 32 councils are fully complying with laws to provide services in Irish
Donegal and Laois county councils were the only bodies fully compliant.
They can DNA test dog poo now, but you don't have to worry just yet...
The UK Council of Barking and Dagenham has become the first local authority in the UK to introduce the system.
Here's how much councils make from parking fines ... and which streets are the top earners
Were you caught in any of these locations?
An English councillor says he can do his job from the USA
Telecommuting is all the rage, sure.
File sent to DPP over Donegal councillor's expenses
Former councillor Dessie Larkin claimed he was at two meetings at the one time.
Here's how much money local authorities have given to Irish Water
The running of water services is being transferred from councils to Irish Water.
Irish Water is asking councils for information on their tenants
The company says it needs to have an up to date database.
Where would you stay if you became homeless tomorrow?
Emergency accommodation beds across the nation’s capital are at 99% capacity. If you became homeless tomorrow, what could you expect to face?
Retiring town councillors will be paid around €4.6 million
The payment will be offset by long-term savings says Phil Hogan.