Introduction
The issue of regional governance arises in this Paper as a logical consequence of discussion on a Dublin Mayor and the need for coherent governance across the wider Dublin area – see Chapter 3. It was also raised as a significant issue in a number of the submissions received.

The Nature of Regional Governance in Ireland
Local authorities discharge the vast majority of governance functions outside those of central government and its various agencies. The small size of Ireland, its centralised administration (as discussed in Chapter 2) and the affinity people have for counties and cities over regions have tended collectively to diminish any arguments for strong regional governance structures. That said, the need for arrangements to draw down E.U. structural funds led to the creation of the current regional structures including two Regional Assemblies and eight Regional Authorities.

The re-emergence of the regional dimension to Government policies, notably in the National Development Plans and in the National Spatial Strategy, has led to an evolution in the powers and functions of regional authorities. Significantly, Regional Authorities were given the power, under the Planning and Development Act 2000, to draw up Regional Planning Guidelines (RPG’s) as an overall co-ordinating framework for all the development plans at city and county council level in each regional authority area. These RPG’s were prepared and adopted by 2004 as a further articulation of the National Spatial Strategy at regional level. Local authorities must have regard to RPG’s in making statutory development plans as distinct from complying with them.

Supporting Dynamic Regions
The issue of regional development should not be seen in terms of Dublin versus the rest of the country, but in terms of the necessity for the country as a whole to have successful dynamic regions – including Dublin. As reported by the NESC, a burgeoning literature on the role of urban regions in knowledge-intensive, services-oriented national economies suggests “that, whatever the contribution national economic policy made to growth in Ireland's regions in the past, what happens—or fails to happen—at the level of the regions in the coming years will increasingly account for the success of the national economy in the first place.”²⁶

The NESC Report also quotes OECD analysis which stated that the goal of the ”new political economy for territories” is not to shift jobs from one region to another but ”to lift overall output by developing the assets of all regions”, with many of the key issues revolving around ‘intangible assets’ such as ”linkages between universities, research communities and the private sector, clustering, stocks of social capital, and natural features often associated with water or other environmental assets.”

Regional development also requires support for economic growth in rural areas, in addition to the Gateways and Hub towns, in accordance with the White Paper on Rural Development and the National Development Plan.

To spread national growth in a sustainable way, better arrangements for regional co-ordination are essential, particularly at a time of rapid population growth. Part of the challenge is to ensure that local government is capable of rising to the challenge of developing, and facilitating the development, of the Gateway and Hub cities and towns as envisaged by the National Spatial Strategy. This is a particular challenge where local authorities both co-operate and compete across local authority boundaries.

Present arrangements for regional co-ordination involve the regional authorities and various, generally non-statutory, committees without an overall or agreed political figurehead. Good progress is being achieved in some areas. However, without operational responsibilities, a direct electoral mandate or strong statute backed powers, regional authorities face enduring challenges in establishing a strong co-ordinating regional voice. They do, however, perform a valuable function by creating a forum for dialogue on regional issues but one that is ultimately dependent on the buy-in of constituent local authorities in terms of delivery.

A mayor with executive authority on a number of key strategic issues, working across local authority boundaries, as discussed in Chapter 3 in relation to Dublin, may provide a suitable model to aid the emergence of strong and coherent city region perspectives in strategic areas elsewhere in the State and to support the achievement of national policy objectives. Specifically:

The larger Gateway cities such as Limerick, Cork, Galway and Waterford, which are central to the Government’s regional development objectives, typically straddle two or more local authority areas. Debates about adjusting city/county boundaries inevitably revolve around local loyalty and identity rather than focusing on the best option for good governance. Measures now in place to incentivise collective action, such as the Gateway Innovation Fund (GIF) under the NDP, require further consolidation.

North South Cooperation
There is also clear value in strengthening North/South cooperation between local authorities. This is happening at national level with cross-border dialogue on the National Spatial Strategy and Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland, and the development of a framework of collaboration which takes a shared high-level view of co-ordinating spatial planning and development on the island of Ireland. This aims to facilitate better integration between the considerable capital investment expenditure anticipated over the coming years and strategic planning. It will also be based for the first time on all-island data sets which will greatly enhance evidence-based policy and strategic decision-making on an all-island basis.

Local strategies are also being developed at sub-regional level for the linked gateways of Letterkenny and Derry and for the Dundalk-Newry twin-city region, where cross-border cooperation at both central and local government is being realised and implemented. There are many other instances of practical co-operation such as the North-West Economic Development Initiative, joint tourism initiatives (e.g. the Oriel 2012 Tourism Initiative), and co-operation on issues as diverse as the arts and farmers’ markets.

The reforms of local government in Northern Ireland under the new devolved administration, offer the possibility of developing further co-operation between local authorities North and South of the Border.

Possible Options for New Approaches in Selected Gateway Cities
The NESC reports that “the development of the required governance frameworks that will allow key actors in the Gateways to take co-ordinated and effective action together is, probably, the greatest and most urgent challenge facing the implementation of the NSS.”²⁷ The NESC also recognises that local authorities must take the lead role in meeting the specific challenges and opportunities of 'their' Gateway's development.

The question arises whether there may be alternative ways to provide local government and local political leadership to deliver the required coherent and focused approach to developing key Gateways. If new approaches are adopted, consideration in turn may have to be given to the role and geographical remit of the existing regional structures. Some possibilities are set out below.

Cross Boundary Executive/Political Offices
Should consideration be given to providing for a metropolitan mayor’s office (supported by a small executive) in specific strategic city regions? This office could cross city/county boundaries and could be created to discharge a number of discrete and strategic functions. Such an office would work hand in hand with the existing administrative structures, such as local and regional authorities, but deliver a better city region focus.

The functions of such an office could include strategic oversight in relation to strategic land-use planning at city region level, to progress the delivery of key regional infrastructure (roads, public transport, water and waste infrastructure for example), including proposing a city region agenda in the making of regional planning guidelines and subsequently shaping those guidelines from a city region perspective.

Such an office could deliver the co-ordination and strong political leadership required in, for example, the Limerick/Shannon area, building on other initiatives and on a trial basis without disrupting existing county boundaries. Learning from a pilot introduction phase, the metropolitan mayor office concept could be considered for roll-out in other areas requiring metropolitan co-ordination, e.g. the larger NSS Gateways.

Putting forward another or parallel “regional” layer could be seen to add unnecessary complexity. There is a danger in this. However, there is also a potential to bring strategic and political leadership to some key growth centres to support the National Spatial Strategy in counter-balancing the development pull of the Dublin region.

Consolidation or Joint Leadership of Key Authorities
An alternative to new regional structures around Gateways may be to look at the existing structures within county boundaries. The Gateway cities of Limerick and Waterford exist in parallel with relatively small county councils.²⁸ Would unitary authorities for city and county be a more appropriate response to coherent development of those Gateways? Such structures would bring greater strength and depth to local government in those key Gateways without breaching the emotional allegiance to county.

Another approach could be for joint election of one mayor to chair and represent both authorities.

Similarly, could a small county like Sligo with just 2 overlapping authorities be usefully served by one mayor in a manner which would support the development of Sligo as a Gateway under the National Spatial Strategy?

Application of such an approach in Cork and Galway may be more open to question given the geographical size and population of those counties.

Conclusion
The options outlined above are likely to give rise to substantial debate. It is necessary to consider if novel institutional arrangements can enhance the potential of the Gateway cities and towns to offer a real counter balancing weight to the growth of the Dublin region. New institutional arrangements need not be considered for all areas, and different solutions could apply in different areas. However, we should take the opportunity to consider how to provide strong strategic local leadership as a driver of balanced regional development.