democracy works if you let it

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Democracy worksif you let it.

Stronger localgovernmentmeans betterlocal services.

Make Government Local, Improve Your Local Services

Introduction: Reclaiming the role of local authorities and local democracy............2

Four ‘Dead Hands’ strangling local government ..............................................................3

Irish local government – the poor cousin in Ireland’s democracy ........................5

Reimagining and restoring local democracy in Ireland ........................................7

Public housing ..................................................................................................................9

Refuse collection ..........................................................................................................10

Water ..............................................................................................................................12

Energy ............................................................................................................................13

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................15

Recommendations ..................................................................................................................16

Contents

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Centralisation and the monopolising tendenciesof national government has been a consistentexperience for Irish local government (Callanan2018, Quinlivin 2018). Functions have been lost,not only through outsourcing, but to central (forexample water) or regional government, or to newquangos (including higher education grants (toSUSI) and driving licences (to NDRL). OECD(2009) recommend that every new service shouldbe delivered at first consideration by localgovernment.

Executive direction has occurred as new publicmanagement processes and changes inadministration, evaluation and control mechanismshas increased bureaucratic power at the expenseof political representatives, for example throughpublic procurement process where transactioncosts now reach €1.6 billion1 and whereprocesses are an impediment to delivery of publichousing.

Privatisation occurs when local governmentservices are marketised as in the case of domesticrefuse services, this has not led to improvedservices for citizens but has led to poorer qualityof employment for workers. Austerity has erodedby stealth of local authority capacity anddowngraded it’s scope, scale and skills. Declining

funding from central government, difficulties incollecting commercial rates as businessesstruggled, and a drastic fall in revenue fromdevelopment levies, has led to a viscous cycle ofcumulative erosion of local authority power andcapacity (Norris and Hayden 2018, Quinlivin2017). This erosion makes rebuilding the powerand function of local authority more difficult butalso makes more urgent the challenge of restoringpublic democracy and public services.

Austerity meant not only budget cuts but alsoorganisational configuration of state institutionsand territorial, functional, financial, andmanagerial and efficiency, and participativereforms (Callanan 2016). In Ireland austerity notonly meant less money and staff but also morecentralised control of the bureaucracy and morestandardised governance and accountabilityarrangements across the public service, in theform of micro-management (Boyle and O’ Riordan2013) and executive direction (Hardiman andMacCarthaigh 2013). Direct staffing levelsdropped from a 2008 37,242 by 2018 to28,224 (24.2%), ranging from Galway (34%) toLouth (15.7%). The nature of the early retirementpackage mean a loss of senior management, skills,functional capacity and institutional memory.

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Local government is an important site fordefending and extending democracy and fullcitizenship. To reach such potential requiresexplicit rebalancing towards direct local publicprovision in Ireland. Unions occupy an importantpublic space. Public sector workers see first-handthe loss of trust in public institutions, which,alongside growing inequality, is contributing tonew forms of populist politics across Europe. It isnecessary to create a critical and oppositionalspace to reclaim the full social and economicpotential of Irish local democracy including itsimportant role as a local employer and economicdriver. This short paper addresses how to enhancelocal authority provision of and local democraticcontrol over public housing, water, refusecollection and energy policy concerning lowcarbon transition.

Investment in local government is pivotal torealising an equal distribution of economic growthand social development, enabling a more evenspatial distribution of the benefits of economicrecovery. Direct provision of local governmentservices offers a pipeline of manual occupations,

local jobs means local consumption, which in turnleads to strong economic multipliers, which canact as a stimulus to local economic development.Developing new forms of local democratic controland delivery of public services is central tomeeting 21st century challenges (Cumber, 2017).This means reversing trends of centralisation,executive direction, privatisation and austerity, allof which combined to undermine the vitality andcapacity of local government in Ireland and thecapacity for progressive forms of local delivery ofpublic policy and local employment.

This paper seeks to both reimagine anddemonstrate the value and relevance of localgovernment in the delivery of key infrastructureand services in Ireland. We discuss howcentralisation, executive direction, privatisationand austerity have undermined local democracy inIreland. We make the general case for localgovernment and democracy and againstcentralisation and privatisation and makerecommendations for local government delivery infour key sectors; public housing, domestic refusecollection, water and energy/low carbon transition.


Introduction:Reclaiming the role of local authorities and local democracy

Four ‘DeadHands’ stranglinglocal government

1 http://council.ie/public-procurement-in-ireland-a-critical-review/

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Irish local government scores poorly on a numberof assessments of relative strength; size andstructure of local authority units; the institutionswithin local government; the balance of powerbetween the administrative and elected parts oflocal government; the range of functions for whichlocal government has responsibility; therelationship between central and localgovernment; and the financial autonomy of localgovernment.

All of this reduces its democratic legitimacy. Thenet effect of recent reforms has been to furtherlimit, relative to international practice, thefunctions and competencies of Irish localgovernment. 2014 changes abolished towncouncils so that only Ireland now has only 31 localauthorities (Quinlivin 2017, Callanan 2018).Ireland is now last in the international index of self-autonomy.2

Ireland has far fewer local municipalities than theother countries illustrated, with only one city orcounty council for every 148,517 people (farlower in other similar small sized states). Irelandalso has structural weaknesses and inconsistencyin structures, with significant inequality ofrepresentation (with little sub-countyrepresentation, outdated boundaries,fragmentation and duplication of functions). Onaverage across the EU 23.1% of public spendingoccurs at local government level compared to 8%in Ireland. Denmark, the highest at 65.9%, haseight times more public spending at local level.Investment in Irish local government expenditure isnot only low, up to a quarter of the budget is notunder control.3 The implications differ acrossIreland; some funding sources are moremeaningful for larger local authorities who can runsurpluses while smaller rural authorities often rundeficits.

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MORE POWER TO YOU Make Government Local, Improve Your Local Services

Figure 1Local authority undermined by

overlap of centralisation, executive direction, privatisation, austerity

Irish local government – the poorcousin in Ireland’s democracy

Figure 2Local Autonomy Index: Country Ranking 2014

2 This index uses seven categories (legal protection, organisational autonomy, and institutional depth, fiscal autonomy, financial self-reliance,borrowing autonomy, and financial transfer system, and administrative supervision, central or regional access) to assess self-autonomy

3 Size and structure of local authority units; the institutions within local government; the balance of power between the administrative and electedparts of local government; the range of functions for which local government has responsibility; the relationship between central and localgovernment; and the financial autonomy of local government.

CentralisationLoss of functions to

central state (water, licences, SUSI)

Executivedirection

Loss of democraticpower

(managerialism and NPM)

Marketisation Loss of functions to

outsourcing (refuse, housing)

Austerity Loss of skills and

personnel (25%)

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Local government affects the experience ofworkers and citizen’s quality of life as well as theirpower to influence local services. It also impactson the strength of the local economy and thequality of local employment. When invested in andnurtured Irish local government performs, in a lowcarbon future shared local public services help uslive more sustainable lives. The Council of Europe(2013) strongly criticised Ireland for its lack ofconstitutional protection for sub-nationalgovernment and stressed its importance inarticulating shared community interests, andfactoring local history, geography, political cultureand economy into its decision-making processes.Local and municipal services are at the heart ofthe European model of democracy.

Moreover, communities, residents and workersthroughout the world are increasingly challengingthe degree to which public services have beenoutsourced to the private for profit sector.Kishmoto and Petitjean (2016) identify 835examples of municipalisation in 1600 cities in 45countries, but none in Ireland.

Locating services in local government brings downcosts and tariffs, improves conditions for workersand boosts service quality, while ensuring greatertransparency and accountability (ibid p 11), butalso contributes to new social, economic andenvironmental change as well as new forms of anddeeper or wider democracy. Over four decades ofprivatisation offers a statistically significant rangeof evidence of the failure of privatisation projectsto deliver on promises of improved investment,performance and efficiency (Hearne 2011).

The innovative Australian Peoples Inquiry intoprivatisation (Herthington 2017) offers a holisticoverview of the damage to workers and citizens,especially the most vulnerable citizens, whenpublic services, particularly local public services,are privatised. The benefits from deprivatisation,remunicipalisaiton, or re-establishment of publicservices4 range from improved quality of servicesand greater financial transparency. Crucially froma democratic perspective, the local authorityregains operational capacity and control.

Terzis (2016 p 810) has an overall positiveassessment of the benefits to workers of localauthority based provision which reverses thediminished quality of work associated withprivatisation and outsourcing. Many public sectorunions have led campaigns for local authority ledservices (PSI and EPSU lead the Right 2 Watercampaign, German trade union ver.di led the‘Public is Essential’, and Australian public sectorunions led The Taking Back Control initiative.

Basing service provision in local authorities alsomeans more capacity to implement equalopportunity employment and positivediscrimination policy (Hetherington 2017), toimplement progressive codes of practice, monitorhealth and safety and enhance economicdemocracy.

Local democracy is also important from anequality perspective including gender equality.Local authority led provision has more capacity tomeet environmental and equality objectives and,from an efficiency and equality perspective, to

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Irish local authorities have a narrower scope thanlocal authorities do do internationally; functions(grouped into eight programmes) revolve aroundphysical infrastructure, environmental issues andrecreational facilities. There are few social or careservices, primary or specialist education, health orpublic employment services and over time ‘localauthorities are seen as less and less engaged indirect service delivery to local citizens’ (Boyle andO’Riordan 2013). This has impact in terms ofdemocratic engagement with declining voterturnout in urban and rural areas.

However, local authorities remain relevant and stillencompass a range of vital services, fromcemeteries, to dog licences, to trafficmanagement, parks, and recreation: much of ourdaily lives still depend on local authority services.Our public library illustrates what a trusted and

valued locally delivered and democraticallycontrolled community can look like, and how suchservices can facilitate a wide range of social,economic and cultural development, localdemocracy and participation. With smart use oftechnology, the public library is a sustainable,integrated public service valued by 80% ofcitizens with increased visits and borrowing rates.Local government administered driving licenceshad a speedy turnaround with next day delivery,while the technological innovation in motor taxservices has been lauded. Historically localgovernment oversaw significant public buildingprogrammes in both affordable and public housingdelivering, for example building over 9000 housesin 1975 alone and over time providing 365,350council houses and flats or one quarter (22.2%) ofthe total Irish housing stock.

County Number of Local Average Population Area(EU/EEA) local gov exp as a population

municipalities % of general per unitgovt. spending

Denmark 98 65.9% 57,421 5.6 million 42,921 km²

Sweden 290 51.1% 33,258 9.6 million 438,574 km²

Finland 313 40.2% 17,416 5.5 million 338,435 km²

Norway 428 33.5% 11,897 5.1 million 32,387 km²

Netherlands 390 31.1% 43,152 16.8 million 41,540 km²

United Kingdom 419 23.7% 153,480 64.3 million 248,528 km²

European Union 23.1% - -(current composition)

Euro area 20.4% - -(19 countries)

Ireland 31 8.4% 148,517 4.6 million 69,797 km²

Figure 3 Local government expenditure as a percentage ofgeneral government expenditure

Source: Eurostat gov_10a_main

Reimagining and restoringlocal democracy in Ireland

4 Bergen in Norway found brining nursing homes back into public ownership generated a surplus of 500,000 instead of a loss of 1m, while in London ending local transport PPP has generated savings of £1b. In Chiclana Spain p16, €215m budget savings over three services enabled the redeployment of 200 workers into better quality public sector jobs.

Recommendation:In the short term investment can enable less outsourcing of local authority short-term andlong-term maintenance functions; employment of direct labour can enable more preventativemaintenance, effective void management and proactive use of SEAI retrofitting grants. In themedium term a new local authority led public housing financial model for public housing whichchanges the funding model to a cost-rental model, with no right to buy or successor policy,and adequate down-sizing capacity alongside supports for local sustainable communities fordiverse families across generations.

Local authorities maintain crucial housing andplanning functions which are too numerous acomplex to address here. Here we focus on how toprotect and enhance the direct provision of publichousing by local authorities5. The shift away fromthe role of local authoriites in provision of publichousing has been a long term trend which began inthe 1980’s (Norris and Hayden 2018). Thetraditional provision of council housing has beendisplaced by the growing importance of privatesector rental subsidies including the most recentHousing Assistance Payment (HAP), whichRebuilding Ireland (2016) positions as the primaryprovider of social housing by 2021.

Ideology, management challenges associated withthe ongoing residualisation of social housing, andlimited political power of low-income householdsall play a role in driving the strategy to marketisewhat was once public housing. Unreformed, theunderlying model for local authority housingincapacitates and limits potential to not only meetdirect build targets but to innovate and utiliseexisting grant and support (Norris and Hayden2018).

Given the loss of many technical staff many basicmanagement and void related services are nowoutsourced, this is not efficient. More capacitywould enable more preventative maintenance, lessvoids and more proactive and effective use ofSEAI retrofitting grants which presently many LA’shave insufficient resources to utilise. What isneeded is a reinvigorated sustainable public

housing model. From the perspective of the citizenand worker, secure social housing social housing isinfinitely preferable to insecure private sectorhousing (Hearne and Murphy 2017). Cost rentalmodels of accommodation are at the heart of asustainable model, in practice this meanschanging the financial rental, letting andmaintenance model for public housing provisionand making this new model the primary vehicle fordelivering public housing (Norris and Hayden2018).

Public housingFigure 3

Social housing provision

Source Norris and Hayden 2018

5 In 2017 ICTU’s called for a local authority led emergency response to the housing crisis. NERI (2017) called for acost rental models for affordable housing as did NESC (2014).

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Recommendation:Government should seek to constitutionally protect local government. Directly electedmayors can play a key role in a reimagined local government system, clarity about roles,function and powers and relevant legislative changes to facilitate directly elected mayorsshould be progressed immediately.

In 2020 government should restore the town council system of sub-county government anddo so in a way that achieves territorial balance. Local government needs increased revenueand funding powers. Increasing the percentage of public expenditure that is channelledthrough local authorities from the present low of 8% so it moves towards European average22-23% would translate into local employment and local economic drivers.

Increased financial authority requires parallel systems of accountability, transparency anddemocratic input including for example participatory budgeting and forms of equality, genderand sustainability proofing.

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integrate public services and provide affordableservices, both of which are crucial for localauthorities to meet their public duty to promotehuman rights and equality (IHREC 2014).

Local authorities can also work with participativeprocesses like Public Participation Networks(PPNs). Putting delivery into public ownership

means investing in the local economy (Becker2017, p118), it does not mean repeating the pastbut imagining new future forms of democraticallycontrolled services and greater mobilisation ofcitizens who use such services. Internationallyreferendums and other participative mechanismshave anchored many campaigns for local services.

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While many councils facedwith an unviable businessmodel for domestic refuseexited waste management itis now clear thatprivatisation has had anumber of negativeconsequences includingincreased charges, a declinein recycling and an increasein fly tipping and dumping. InIreland the national wastecollection permit systemresults in a side-by-side‘quasi market’ which isproblematic and poorlyregulated with environmentaland other costs. Privaterefuse services are not onlyunaccountable but the side-by-side model leads to cartellike private bin collectionservices which have proveduncompetitive, inefficientand unable to provideaffordable services orconsistent coverage.

The lack of competition isevident in that only 20 mainoperators service 90% ofhouseholds that avail of acollection service. 18% ofhouseholds nationally, and25% in the Dublin region, donot have a choice of provision from multiplesuppliers, while 23% of households do not have awaste-collection service at all. This leaves roomfor a significant number of illegal practices (Goggin2018). An estimated 5% or 80,000 domestichouseholds dump and burn waste and rogueoperators with no waste collection permit engagein illegal dumping or fly tipping.

This happens in both urban and rural areas, withup to 64,000 tonnes unmanaged with the ultimateclean-up costs borne by local councils and anincreasing likelihood that Ireland will miss 50% EUrecycling target under the EU Waste FrameworkDirective (EPA 2018).

Refuse collectionFigure 4

Household waste collection coverage

Source: CCPC analysis of NWCPO and CSO household data

The Competition and Consumer ProtectionCommission (CCPC) recent report on wastemarket (Goggin 2018) highlights the degree towhich the unique Irish waste management market,operating a ‘’side-by-side’ licensing permit model,is highly inefficient in enabling a competitivemarket. Goggin concludes domestic wastecollection is “a natural monopoly” and needs to beregulated to abolish side-by-side services so thatcitizens have a guaranteed affordable service.

Goggin (2018) argues government shouldestablish a ‘regulator for household wastecollection’ (to include the functions of economic-licensing, data-collection and analysis, marketdesign and consumer protection). A regulatoryframework can also create conditions for localauthorities to re-enter domestic bin collection. ACost Benefit Analysis may produce a strong case

for a new financial and charging model with thelocal authority as central provider of refusecollection. This would be in line with localauthorities across Europe who are municipalisingwaste management, (Scotland for example havingprivatised then remunicipalised with a differenteconomic model). The function of any regulatoryauthority should include a culture of healthpromotion and education service to highlighthazards of internal domestic burning which cantrigger respiratory and other health problems. Alocal authority led regime could also considercompulsory subscription to a local affordable binservice. Finally, from the local authority workersperspective most of the members in wastemanagement are now waste enforcement officers.A regulatory regime allows their qualifications tobe recognised in meaningful roles.

Recommendation:Outsourcing waste collection was driven by the commercial viability of the charging regimesas well as other factors (including the Poolbeg Incinerator). Crucially this was not driven bylocal government inefficiency or workforce considerations. It is possible to imagine a localauthority led professional, affordable environmentally friendly, cost efficient and citizenfriendly service, which has the potential to generate local multipliers in local economy. Thereis also demand from customers who want the service to return to local authorities. What isfirst required is the regulation of the waste sector to ensure every household is guaranteed anaffordable waste disposal service; this is a necessary precursor to direct provision.

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Recommendation:A constitutional referendum on the Right to Water should be worded in such a way to ensureErvia remains in public ownership. The right to water can be made real through a localauthority delivered water customer service as in the Flanders region.

WaterWater needs to be understood as a public goodthat is essential for public health and well-being.The 2002 European Water Directive or frameworkplaced a new focus on environmental and financialsustainability, this market environmentalismlodged the market logic in environmental policyalong with the use of price signals, charges, andpolluter pay principles and encouraged marketbased provision. Ireland has had a low level ofinvestment in water infrastructure and up to 201545% of such investment was delivered throughPPP’s (the 2nd highest in EU next to Greece(Dukelow 2016). Over 2014/5 as water wascentralisation from local to national level,investment has increased and Ervia hasdiscontinued use of PPPs (albeit many suchcontracts remain valid).

Public control over the level of such investment isessential; hence, the pubic demand to guaranteepubic ownership of water into the future and thespecific demand for a constitutional referendum.Various water related referendums have beenconducted at municipal level across Europe andhave been important rally points for publiceducation and deliberation. National levelreferendums (non-binding) have been conducted inGreece and Italy, but in Slovenia the constitutionhas been amended to include the right to water(14 other countries globally have thisconstitutional right). From the citizens and usersperspective there is a clear public democratic

deficit concerning user’s water rights and servicedelivery. A constitutional referendum canconsolidate the role of the state, national andlocal, in the provision of water and do this from arights perspective.6 While Evira is now in place,and the question of charges is politically settled,there remain issues concerning service levelagreements that cover exiting provision of waterservices from the local to central levels and therole of local authority staff in water management7.

The referendum is key to protecting the publicsector status of workers in SLAs with Ervia. AReferendum can ensure, not only the right towater, but can keep Ervia in public ownership as astate-run commercial or non-commercial stateentity. Workers concerns vary with age and loss ofpromotion channels is a key issue for many; formany workers it is essential that Ervia must be asingle state run public utility incorporated intopublic sector wage agreements. The JointCommittee on the Future Funding of DomesticWater Services supported the concept of areferendum on the issue of water servicescontinuing in public ownership as a protectionagainst any privatisation. A November 2018Ministerial a memo to cabinet to proposed a May2019 referendum to stipulate that ownership of awater services authority must be retained by theState or a State-controlled body. Wording is nowwith the Attorney General.

6 Samenlevingsopbouw Antwerpen Provincie is a 2014 framework project for the Flemish Minister for the Environment, on waterand poverty which uses a rich dialogue based methodology to consult vulnerable clients? Their recommendations, based onindividual cases, individual contacts with the people from target groups and group discussions, mostly relate to improvements inthe attitude of water providers in relation to the realization of access to quality water for all.

7 The future of SLA’s between Ervia and Local Authorities was the subject of a September 2018 report to the Minister from theWorkplace Relations Commission Central to the issue of resolving SLA’s (due to expire in 2021) and the future of public sectorworkers who are presently employed in local authorities is a commitment to maintain their status as public sector employees whobenefit from present and future public sector wage agreements.

EnergyFigure 12Ireland’s international ranking for fighting climate change

Source: Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, Off Target: Ranking of EU countries’ ambition and progressin fighting climate change, June 2018

Ireland is ranked second last (after Poland), forfighting climate change and low-carbon transition.Governance arrangements for the SustainableDevelopment Goals National Implementation Plan2018-2020 stress the role of local government intranslating national policies into tangible practicalactions in individual and communities’ behavioursand goals.

The role of the local actor is a recurring theme inacademic literature concerning sustainability(Felber 2013). Local drivers are needed ineducation and proofing, in driving recycling and indriving a circular economy. With structures such asthe Local Community Development Committees(LCDCs), Strategic Policy Committees (SPCs),Public Participation Networks (PPNs) can also play

This paper makes a strong argument for investing in local publiccontrol and delivery of local services and infrastructure.This means shifting the dead hands of the central state, executivedirection and the private market, and addressing the impact ofausterity, which together have been strangling local governmentin Ireland. Workers in local authorities fear that local government isbecoming only a figure head, that it is not about deliveringsubstance, like water, housing or other public sector goods, thatare essential to underpin sustainable communities and promotelocal economies as well as the principle of subsidiarity at theheart of real local democracy.A strengthening of local government functions, powers andcapacity offers a pathway to a sustainable future of inclusivegrowth and dynamic democratic communities and work places.

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an important role in this process and raiseawareness of the general public and communitygroups. Cumber (2017) argues new forms ofpower in local or regional alliances can disruptinternational and national vested energy interests.Local decentralised forms of energy supply canlimit disruptive impacts of climate change. Statebased investment is central to realising new formsof renewable energy. In many countries processesof local democratic participation recognise thedegree to which innovation needs to be vested inthe ‘local’ and in public ownership which cangenerate community buy in, engagement andownership in transition processes. Localauthorities and relevant regional assemblies play akey role in coordinating relevant activities relatedto the National Dialogue on Climate Action. Thismeans creating structures and information flowsto facilitate people gathering to discuss,deliberate and maximise consensus on appropriateresponses to low carbon challenges.

Local authorities have a key role in promoting andimplementing energy efficiency measures andthese have other potential benefits including fuelpoverty and public health. Reducing energy use inthe built environment can occur at Design,

Acquisition and Use stages and SEAI are pilotingvarious ways to promote energy efficiency in theBetter Energy Programme. Two measures are ofparticular relevance to local authorities; MeasureBE3 – Rental Sector – Housing AssistancePackage is a pilot scheme to encourage landlordsparticipating in the Housing Assistance Paymentto avail of the Better Energy grants. Measure BE7– Social Housing provides for energy efficiencyupgrades to be undertaken by local authorities tosocial housing stock. Local authorities have a clearpromotion role for all other Better Energymeasures (1-8). Resources are needed to enablelocal authorities play their role in shifts torenewable energy. The Citizens Assembly report,How the State can make Ireland a Leader intackling Climate Change (2018), addresses therole of enabling communities initiate local basedrenewable energy solutions by selling back into thegrid of electricity from micro-generation by privatecitizens and ensuring the greatest possible levelsof community ownership in all future renewableenergy projects. The infrastructure for this shouldbe developed by local government.

Recommendation:Investment is needed in local authority environmental and sustainable energy staffinfrastructure to ensure sufficient capacity to enable maximum use of the SEAI BetterEnergy programme (BE 3 (private rental) and BE 7 (social housing)), support renewableenergy. The existing LARES framework can advance Citizens Assembly recommendations tofacilitate micro generation and community ownership of renewable energy projects. In linewith the National Dialogue on Climate Action local government has a key role in citizeneducation, county ‘targets’ could mobilise towards low carbon transition.

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Conclusion

Local Government Legislative changes to Restore sub-county Maximise localfacilitate directly government through employment andelected mayors should a territorially economic potentialbe progressed rebalanced town by increasing the %immediately council system of public expenditure

channelled through local authorities from the present low of 8% towards European average 22-23%

Public housing Investment in direct A new local authority Referendummaintenance staff led public housing for right to

financial model which housingchanges the funding model to a cost-rental model

Waste Address fly Regulation of Direct entry oftipping waste management to local authority

ensure abolish side by into regulatedside and guarantee all waste managementhouseholds an affordable servicewaste collection service

Water Local authority Ensure public Referendumled citizens water service conditions for right toadvocacy of employment in water and public

all SLAs ownership water infrastructure

Energy Advance National To advance LARES Advance CitizensDialogue on Climate invest in AssemblyAction through local environmental and recommendations togovernment citizen sustainable energy facilitate microeducation and county staff infrastructure generation andlow carbon transition community ownershiptargets of renewable energy

projects

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Recommendations

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View the full report at www.forsa.ie

Report by: Dr Mary.P.Murphy,

Department of Sociology, Maynooth University .

Peer review: Aodh Quinlivin (University College Cork)

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