Add in local papers this week looking for input on the proposed merger of City and Co

wellboytoo

The adds are in the local papers this week looking for input from people on the proposed merger of City and County.
This is your only chance for an input Guys, personally I am against it in the proposed format, as I don't see any upside for the City in a merger with a county that is six million in the hole? With seven villages with no sewage treatment plants that the council are statutorily obliged to build , all this and remember the county has a bigger population than the City, imo you will not see a bob spent in the City for twenty years if this happens.
I am going to propose that they look at it in a completely different way, take a point at the clock tower strike a twenty five kilometre radius from that and that is the new administrative body , leave all political boundaries carry on as of today, but this area to be run by a municipal authority .
The advantages are obvious it has the City at the heart of a large population centre that have a nature affinity in that direction, the west of the county has much more in common with East Cork and Clonmel, and they would create a like minded large municipal body of their own creating much more synergies and savings than is proposed at this moment.
Mainly it ignores the Elephant in the room we have at the moment in a lopsided development of the City.
Thats my tuppence halpenny worth, but whatever your opinion express it or it will just be rubber stamped as usual.

Sully

Its just like a "jobs for the boys". One large body should represent both city and county. The Town Councils should also be abolished.

jayboi

Will the merger result in any jobs losses?

wellboytoo

In Ireland in the civil service are you serious?

Smiley Burnett

what savings will this merger bring about for the taxpayer??? That is the question. In fact that is the only question that matters.

Sully

Smiley Burnett wrote: »

what savings will this merger bring about for the taxpayer??? That is the question. In fact that is the only question that matters.

I think there will be less councilors for a start anyway, and I would imagine the administration would be cut also as a result. The Limerick merger was said to be saving in the region of €15 million, a better service and cheaper commercial rates.

Yes Boss

It will further undermine the status of our City which this Government seem hell bent on achieving. This on the back of pillaging the VEC HQ for Wexford (The Capital of the South:rolleyes: ). Crony politics at its worst...

looksee

Yes Boss wrote: »

It will further undermine the status of our City which this Government seem hell bent on achieving. This on the back of pillaging the VEC HQ for Wexford (The Capital of the South:rolleyes: ). Crony politics at its worst...

Its quite the opposite of cronyism - less dignitaries means you are personally less likely to have a pet councilor in your pocket. I would be quite happy if the City adopted Tramore though, it would be more relevant than decisions being made from Dungarvan.

merlante

wellboytoo wrote: »

The adds are in the local papers this week looking for input from people on the proposed merger of City and County.
This is your only chance for an input Guys, personally I am against it in the proposed format, as I don't see any upside for the City in a merger with a county that is six million in the hole? With seven villages with no sewage treatment plants that the council are statutorily obliged to build , all this and remember the county has a bigger population than the City, imo you will not see a bob spent in the City for twenty years if this happens.
I am going to propose that they look at it in a completely different way, take a point at the clock tower strike a twenty five kilometre radius from that and that is the new administrative body , leave all political boundaries carry on as of today, but this area to be run by a municipal authority .
The advantages are obvious it has the City at the heart of a large population centre that have a nature affinity in that direction, the west of the county has much more in common with East Cork and Clonmel, and they would create a like minded large municipal body of their own creating much more synergies and savings than is proposed at this moment.
Mainly it ignores the Elephant in the room we have at the moment in a lopsided development of the City.
Thats my tuppence halpenny worth, but whatever your opinion express it or it will just be rubber stamped as usual.

All the regional cities should have their own council areas, but they should be expanded, as you say. 25km radius is probably too big.

You could have a Waterford council with 75K in it with a 10km radius, and do the same sort of thing for Galway (85K?) and Limerick (110K?). Cork could remain as just the city, because it's big enough. Dublin would be handled in its own way. After that merge counties like Carlow and Kilkenny... oops I forgot we were living in a country where you can mess with cities but by god you do not cross a sacred, English-created, GAA sanctified county boundary.

The real joke here is proposing to do a different thing for different cities and counties. Why? Why not treat them all the same?

I'm sure big Phil Hogan is thinking the shoe is on the other foot now, Waterford are going to get their comeupance for trying on a boundary extension -- or 'landgrab' in the local parlance. And for all the supposed parish pump escapades of Martin Cullen, he never forced that boundary extension through when he could have done so.

KK4SAM

I disagree, I would be favour of the merger.You are trying to emulate a Dublin where all the wealth and jobs are in Dublin. Waterford city is cash rich while the county is relativly poor in terms of infrastructure.That fact that seven villages are about to get ETPs is progress.Waterford City only got an effluent treatment plant last year.

http://www.waterfordcity.ie/documents/misc/WasteWaterTreatmentPlantLeaflet.pdf



Spread the wealth evenly........

Bards

KK4SAM wrote: »

I disagree, I would be favour of the merger.You are trying to emulate a Dublin where all the wealth and jobs are in Dublin. Waterford city is cash rich while the county is relativly poor in terms of infrastructure.That fact that seven villages are about to get ETPs is progress.Waterford City only got an effluent treatment plant last year.

http://www.waterfordcity.ie/documents/misc/WasteWaterTreatmentPlantLeaflet.pdf



Spread the wealth evenly........

mmmm - County HQ is in Dungarvan. how many roundabouts does Dungarvan have - it seems money is being spent here to the detriment of the rest of the County.

Waterford City can only gets rates/income from within the boundary and the money is spent within the area it is collected.

What will happen do you think if Dungarvan is made the new enlarged HQ. Will Tramore and Tallow benefit. I think not. All that will happen is that even better roads and more flowers will spring up in Dungarvan

merlante

KK4SAM wrote: »

I disagree, I would be favour of the merger.You are trying to emulate a Dublin where all the wealth and jobs are in Dublin. Waterford city is cash rich while the county is relativly poor in terms of infrastructure.That fact that seven villages are about to get ETPs is progress.Waterford City only got an effluent treatment plant last year.

http://www.waterfordcity.ie/documents/misc/WasteWaterTreatmentPlantLeaflet.pdf



Spread the wealth evenly........

I think it's even more basic than money. It's the difference between urban and rural. Both types of areas are completely different in terms of what they need to keep running. Urban planning v rural planning. Utterly different. What does a councillor from Lismore know or care about the provision of civic amenities in the city? You can still have mergers and larger councils, but can't we at least keep urban and rural separate?

I'm sure something can be done with waste water treatment so that everyone is happy.

fuzzy dunlop

KK4SAM wrote: »

I disagree, I would be favour of the merger.You are trying to emulate a Dublin where all the wealth and jobs are in Dublin. Waterford city is cash rich while the county is relativly poor in terms of infrastructure.That fact that seven villages are about to get ETPs is progress.Waterford City only got an effluent treatment plant last year.

http://www.waterfordcity.ie/documents/misc/WasteWaterTreatmentPlantLeaflet.pdf



Spread the wealth evenly........

Clinging to this mindset is the reason Ireland has been historically poor. Waterford isn't cash rich. It's a simple fact that urban areas are the productive parts of the country.If you want a bite of the cherry move to Waterford. The Country and Western set have been living off the rest of us for long enough.

comeraghs

Fuzzy! seriously where'd you get the idea that "the country set" has been living of Waterford City for years??????

what nonsence?

& I'm pretty sure that no other country in the world meausres anything in the number of round-a-bouts a town or city has.

fuzzy dunlop

comeraghs wrote: »

Fuzzy! seriously where'd you get the idea that "the country set" has been living of Waterford City for years??????

what nonsence?

& I'm pretty sure that no other country in the world meausres anything in the number of round-a-bouts a town or city has.

Because this has been the mindset of rural Ireland for decades and is effectively the mindset displayed by the poster I responded to. No other country in Europe transfers capital to their rural hinterlands on the scale Ireland does. Every parish has to have a hospital etc..And in no other country has it caused as many problems. I "get this idea" from the documented history of Ireland. This might be an inconvenient truth for you if you can explain to me how rural Ireland can sustain the country economically I'm all ears.

Silverado

I think that the concept of taking a radius from a central point in an urban centre to establish the administration area is a good one. The City needs to be in control of its own area for planning and development purposes and not be at the whim of another unsympathetic local authority.

Waterford has been seriously hampered by the planners of Kilkenny Co. Council and Waterford Co. Council in recent times and this needs to stop. How much more unwanted development is liable to take place in our own back yard.

Our city centre shopping could be soon suffer even further devastation if the unwanted Ferrybank Shopping Centre gets an anchor tenant. We won't even mention the other unopened Rathculliheen shopping centre. These were foisted on the City of Waterford by the Kilkenny "planners".

fricatus

Remember to get your submissions in tonight lads: waterfordlgc@ipa.ie

Sent mine just now - covered the following points:

- History, oldest city, blah blah bla(a)

- Urban vs. rural focus

- Nonsense of the traditional county boundaries being sacrosanct; need to reform all boundaries and move away from using the counties as the basis for our system

- Lack of consistency: Waterford and Limerick being subject to merger but Galway not (now there's a surprise...:rolleyes:)


- Town councils in Dungarvan and Tramore but no urban governance in the city?

- Borough councils in Clonmel and Sligo but none in Waterford or Limerick? And if there are to be borough councils, then why make the change at all?

billythepig

tramore, dunmore nd passage should be under the city council, dungarven can look after the rest.

Psychedelic

We should keep both City and County Councils but get rid of the Town Councils. This should satisfy the Government who are looking for savings through mergers. City Council can look after the city, Tramore, Dunmore etc while the County Council (already based in Dungarvan) can look after the western towns & villages.

Knowing the Government though what they'll probably do is merge the City and County Councils but keep the useless Town Councils and all their respective Councillors.

Deadline for submissions on the proposed merger is this Friday.

Max Powers

How do you make a submission?

fricatus

Max Powers wrote: »

How do you make a submission?

E-mail waterfordlgc@ipa.ie