Irish councils fight back against cuts with jobs, tech and collaboration

Aodh Quinlivan
The Guardian, 13 November 2013

Local authorities in Ireland, from Cork to Dublin, are leading the way doing more with less to aid economic recovery. Irish councils have suffered more than any other part of the public sector during the economic downturn. Since 2008, staffing levels have been reduced by 24%, central government funding has decreased by approximately 36% and other sources of income have been decimated. Despite the difficult financial climate, however, they are fighting back and playing innovative roles in economic development and recovery. Below are some examples of incremental innovation; some are radical and systemic but all exhibit the relentless pursuit of improvement in public services, the tailoring of services to individual and local needs and value-for-money. A simple but effective example of tailoring services for people is Cork City Council's award-winning Library Link Service to the Household. The library's home delivery service for people who are housebound due to old age or illness has improved the quality of life for a significant number of people. On a larger scale we have Dublin City Council's Rediscover Furniture and Paint Recycling Project. The council set up this project as a community employment initiative. Donations of furniture and paint are accepted which might previously have been destined for landfill. The furniture is restored and the paint re-potted with the products then being sold at the Ballymun farmers market, at environmental events and through Rediscovery Centre. The project has been highly successful in providing training and employment opportunities for the long-term unemployed; it also offers low cost, high quality environmentally sustainable products.

 

It is in the area of supporting enterprise, local development and economic growth that Irish local authorities are excelling, as shown by a report from the County and City Managers’ Association. The report highlights that in 2012, the 34 city and county councils offered financial support for 465 local festivals and events; and there were 141 actions for 'Creating an Entrepreneurial Environment.' The positive support role played by councils in labour activation is regularly overlooked despite there being 1,200 participants in 2012. There are numerous good news stories in the area of enterprise and employment supports. Mayo County Council has invested substantially in major tourist infrastructure through the Great Western Greenway project. The Greenway has already helped to create a total of 38 new full-time jobs and a further 56 full-time jobs have been sustained. Cork County Council has established a joint initiative with the Nimbus Centre in the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), Mallow Town Council, and Mallow Development Partnership. The aim of the initiative is to create a real life test bed in Mallow, county Cork, for a stream of products which have been laboratory tested in the CIT. This is leading to an enhanced testing infrastructure and environment in Mallow which it is hoped will lead to products from other third level institutions and companies being tested there. Cork City Council hopes to promote the city as a global technology hub and a location for foreign direct investment. With this aim in mind, the council collaborated with Cork Chamber of Commerce, University College Cork, and Cork Institute of Technology to create the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), which brought the Silicon Valley summit to Cork in January 2013 and the event was heralded as an enormous success.

 

South Tipperary County Council is working with locally based craft workers and has established The Tipperary Craft Granary. The council provided the use of the granary free of rent and offered the new startup company an exemption from commercial rates. The Tipperary Craft Granary is now flourishing and employs 12 people. An enormous amount of activity is taking place and collaborations between local councils, third level educational institutions and the private sector are especially strong. It is also worth pointing out that local authorities are demonstrating innovation in spite of showing great restraint in setting commercial rates. Councils have been freezing or reducing rates since 2008 and are leading the way in 'doing more with less'.

 

Aodh Quinlivan is a lecturer in politics at the Department of Government in University College Cork – @AodhQuinlivan.