Sir, – Paul Gillespie has hit the nail on the head as to the greatest obstacle to planned development (“Improving local democracy should be a priority in talks on the formation of the next government”, Worldview, Opinion & Analysis, November 30th). That obstacle is the overcentralisation of power away from local government, ignoring the core European value of subsidiarity, enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty. This holds that a central authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those tasks which cannot be performed at a more local level.
His analysis of the emasculation of local government since 1993 is as concise as his description of the benefits of local democracy. The blindness of government in its preference for market-driven solutions, its failure to initiate large infrastructure planning and its reluctance to include a shared island approach are the real reasons behind our failure to provide the physical infrastructure that we need. This failure is not, nor has it ever been, due to public participation in the planning process, nor has it been ever due to the citizens’ right to access to justice.
His article should be compulsory reading for the incoming government parties. – Yours, etc,
ROBIN MANDAL,
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Chair,
Dublin Democratic Planning Alliance,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
