Introduction
Stronger Local Democracy – Options for Change proposes that local democratic leadership and accountability of Irish local government should be strengthened. The directly elected mayor proposal is seen as the catalyst to achieve this. However, the reform process provides an opportunity to consider other means of improving the connection between the citizen and local government, particularly whether there is greater scope for the direct participation of communities to complement representative local democracy.

New Forms of Engagement with the Community
Notwithstanding the Taskforce on Active Citizenship’s conclusions concerning the existence of a gap between the citizen and institutions of local government, our democratically elected councils have a long tradition of representing and engaging with the community which offers a platform for new and innovative ways of engagement.

The modernisation programme has brought progress, including a step change in dialogue with the community through new structures, such as County/City Developments Boards (CDBs) and Community and Voluntary Fora. Further embedding, strengthening and developing CDBs and Community and Voluntary Fora will naturally reap benefits. However, such structures do not necessarily have a universal reach. For busy people with long commutes and/or demanding family lives, there may not be the time or inclination to involve themselves with community organisations. To engage such people, it may be necessary for local government to creatively and proactively seek new avenues of direct participation.

The Taskforce of Active Citizenship referred to a perceived absence of meaningful opportunities for civic participation in decision-making about local issues. Although public consultation is a routine aspect of local government activity, the perception exists that consultation is often an empty exercise rather than a meaningful opportunity for the citizen, or NGOs, to input. Local authorities often comment that the public does not engage with consultation on strategic policies which set the framework for decision making and only engage very late when specific decisions are seen to affect the locality.

There is significant potential for stronger community influence and input into the decision-making processes of local government. New avenues of participation and communication between local authorities and the communities they represent could allow citizens to exercise a greater degree of control over local services and facilities, could help mobilise public engagement and civic spirit, and could increase the transparency of local authority business.

Measures such as participatory budgeting, petition-related rights, binding plebiscites, regular town/area meetings etc could be used to empower communities by fostering direct, meaningful contact between councils and the communities they represent. Such measures would also be in keeping with the guiding principles of this Paper, particularly those of local democracy and subsidiarity.

Participative forms of engagement with the community could be deployed on a county or city-wide basis, or could be restricted to certain areas, localities or neighbourhoods, depending on the issue. Such measures could be of particular use in those towns which do not have a town council, by providing a means to broaden the county council’s range of interaction with the town’s population.

Forms of Participative Democracy

Participatory Budgeting
Participatory budgeting is a fiscal decision-making mechanism which devolves power to ordinary residents, who decide how to allocate an element or proportion of a local authority’s budget. Residents may identify spending priorities, elect delegates to represent different communities on local authority budgeting committees, and initiate local community projects. Participatory budgeting could result in a direct, stronger, participative relationship between citizens and local authorities, better public spending decisions, enhanced transparency and accountability, and a greater understanding among citizens of the financial circumstances within which local authorities must operate.

Petition Rights
Petition rights refer to the freedom of members of a community to petition their government to address a particular issue. Of course, petitions are not unusual in a local government context. However, petitions, provided that they meet certain criteria, could be reinforced as a means by which a community raises issues, by, for example, instituting an entitlement to have those issues discussed at council level. For example, a local authority could institute a policy that all appropriate petitions which are actionable by the authority, and are initiated and signed by more than 500 local government electors of that authority, will be discussed at the relevant Strategic Policy Committee. Alternatively, local authorities could, at a point in the year which fits with the authority’s budget process, invite petitions concerning proposals which would require expenditure. Those proposals could be considered for inclusion in the authority’s budget.

Plebiscites
A plebiscite is a direct vote in which an electorate is invited to accept or refuse a proposal. Legally binding plebiscites have been long been provided for in Irish local government, e.g. plebiscites held to bring about a change of place name; however they have not been used frequently. In terms of national decision making, positive direct approval by citizens in respect of constitutional amendments is a requirement. For direct participation by local government electors, local authorities could use binding or non-binding plebiscites. A non-binding plebiscite could be used for consultation or advisory purposes. In order to ensure that the will of the electorate is adequately captured, a minimum turn-out of the electorate threshold in order for the plebiscite result to be validated could be set.

Town or Area Meetings
There is a strong tradition elsewhere of town/area meetings to discuss and decide on certain matters, e.g. in New England, Switzerland and areas of the Basque Country. The population of a geographic area is invited to attend a meeting to vote on a local government matter, to provide suggestions from the community, or to seek policy feedback. Local elected representatives and officials often attend. Such meetings could be held at regular intervals, and could be a useful method to help build communities and to strengthen the presence and profile of county councils in those areas which have seen greatest development in recent years.

The Relationship with Local Community Groups
The role of residents’ associations, community councils, Tidy Town committees, sporting clubs, parish councils and other local religious groupings, and similar community organisations have a distinct relevance for the community leadership role of local government, particularly as such groupings include many of those citizens most active and committed to their localities. The development of strengthened relationships between local community groups and local authorities would be mutually beneficial. In many instances local elected representatives are already well connected to community groups. These connections can serve as a valuable foundation for more visible recognition of a range of active community groups and lead to greater and stronger ties.

Section 128 of the Local Government Act 2001 allows for the recognition of local groups by a local authority to promote dialogue between the local authority and the group, to permit assistance to be given, and for the group to work with the council, including by performing non-reserved functions on behalf of the council.

Participative and Representative Democracy
Each of these measures must be judged on its own merits; however they do raise certain fundamentals, such as the respective advantages and disadvantages of representative and participative democracy, and a vision of citizenship as active engagement, rather than as a passive set of legal rights. It would be envisaged, however, that these modes would complement, rather than replace representative local democracy and that they would in no way diminish the role or mandate of the elected councillor.

Such measures could be regarded as reaffirming the role and primacy of the elected member, and the council as a whole, as the centre of community decision making by strengthening the connection with the community. Nor would such methods bypass the important role of the community and voluntary sector, as they could provide a means to focus community attention on particular issues.

Such modes may result in increased pressure on resources, e.g. for the regular holding of local plebiscites, or introduce new demands on council time; however, it is considered that the potential benefits could significantly outweigh the potential costs. Given the novelty of some of these suggestions in the Irish local government context, it may be advisable to promote some pilots before adopting widespread use. It would be extremely important to ensure that participative modes are designed so as to be representative of the community as a whole. However, there is no doubt that non-structural measures have the potential to meet some of the concerns about the local democratic disconnect. Employment of such measures could also help communicate to the public the everyday policy dilemmas which elected members seek to manage, including in relation to the allocation of scarce resources.

Philanthropy
The Government established the Forum on Philanthropy in 2006 to take advantage of opportunities presented by Ireland’s recent economic success. Philanthropy is considerably less developed in Ireland than abroad and there are opportunities to increase its role. This objective was endorsed by the Taskforce on Active Citizenship.

There is a question of the capability of the public service to respond to philanthropic opportunities and the Forum has recently set out to develop models of good practice. This is an area with potential for significant local authority engagement. Local authorities have enjoyed some direct benefits from donations in the past. The development of major national parks in Donegal and Kerry, on the foundations of philanthropic donations to the State, have brought employment and economic gains to areas which are otherwise peripheral.