Munster/Connaught Assembly and Leinster Assembly?

[Fallen_Angel]

As we've seen over the last few weeks with the campaign to keep the Shannon-Heathrow slots still ongoing, there is a definite rift emerging now between East Coast (including Dublin-Belfast Corridor) and West Coast(including Cork-Limerick-Galway) Ireland.

We have also seen devolution in the UK, giving greater power to the UK regions of Scotland, NI and Wales.

With the overpopulation of the East Coast(Dublin-Belfast) and the "pale" mentality of politicians on the East Coast regarding Munster/Connacht issues.

If Munster/Connacht(population 1.7 m) had it's own Assembly, then we would have a greater say over issues affecting our own region for spatial planning, health policy, education, fisheries and recreation, within the bounds prescribed by the national government. They would oversee the policy and finances of the County Councils.

There would also be a Leinster Assembly (incl. Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan) with a population of 2.5 m with the same powers as a Munster/Connacht Assembly.

[Eirenua]

Cork has its own Republic

www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com

[shaneholden]

<mod> Please do not capitalise thread titles </mod>

[locke]

Do people in Cork and Waterford have the same concerns as people in Claremorris or Boyle? While both areas could be perceived as disadvantaged relative to Dublin, the South's problems are as much those of de-industrialisation as rural lack of opportunity. You would also be considering a geographically vast area with people likely to feel as remote from any new authority.

If you are to split Ireland up and not use the existing provinces, I'd suggest a three-way split - Greater Dublin (i.e. including Wicklow, Kildare, Meath and Louth), the South (Munster + Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford) and the North-West. Even then, you could query whether counties such as Laois and Westmeath would belong in with Mayo and Donegal.

[vito corleone]

"There would also be a Leinster Assembly (incl. Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan)"

So it wouldn't be a Leinster Assembly at all then.

[parish pump]

As we've seen over the last few weeks with the campaign to keep the Shannon-Heathrow slots still ongoing, there is a definite rift emerging now between East Coast (including Dublin-Belfast Corridor) and West Coast(including Cork-Limerick-Galway) Ireland.

We have also seen devolution in the UK, giving greater power to the UK regions of Scotland, NI and Wales.

With the overpopulation of the East Coast(Dublin-Belfast) and the "pale" mentality of politicians on the East Coast regarding Munster/Connacht issues.

If Munster/Connacht(population 1.7 m) had it's own Assembly, then we would have a greater say over issues affecting our own region for spatial planning, health policy, education, fisheries and recreation, within the bounds prescribed by the national government. They would oversee the policy and finances of the County Councils.

There would also be a Leinster Assembly (incl. Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan) with a population of 2.5 m with the same powers as a Munster/Connacht Assembly.

I thinks this is overstating it a bit.Knock/Mayo had little to say in support of Shannon.Neither did Cork.This is just The Mid West and Galway looking after their own interestests.There are large parts of the East (Waterford,Wexford,Kilkenny) worse off than the west economically particularly Galway.I would assume that there would be not much faith in these counties of fairer treatment from a Cork,Limerick or Galway assembly

We would be better off scrapping the Counties and making Local Authorities that actually reflect demeographics i.e the Cities and there commuter Belts.In other words Metropolitan districts around Dublin,Cork,Limerick,Waterford,Galway,Dundalk.Athl one and Letterkenny/Derry in other words give the Spatial Strategy some bite.

Ireland is too small for more than one assembly.It would be just another layer of beureaucracy.There is enough Parish Pump politics in Ireland.

Also could the West survive on its own revenue raising ability without subsidisation fron central government.I doubt it. Theres been a gravy train there (relative to other regions) for the last eighty years.

[Schuhart]

I’m actually not against your essential idea. But I think your spin needs a reality check.

As we've seen over the last few weeks with the campaign to keep the Shannon-Heathrow slots still ongoing, there is a definite rift emerging now between East Coast (including Dublin-Belfast Corridor) and West Coast(including Cork-Limerick-Galway) Ireland.

The ‘rift’ in the Shannon dispute is really between Limerick-Clare on the one hand, and everywhere else on the other. Knock Airport sees Shannon’s difficulty as its opportunity and Galway has its own airport too. Cork feels it was shafted by the stopover for years. They haven’t missed the significance of Shannon’s protests, after years of being told that them travelling to Shannon for transatlantic services was only a minor inconvenience. Some use the phrase ‘the veil has dropped’.

With the overpopulation of the East Coast(Dublin-Belfast)

How does an area get ‘overpopulated’? In any event, the East coast is underserved by public transport and some other public services, rather than ‘overpopulated’.

and the "pale" mentality of politicians on the East Coast regarding Munster/Connacht issues.

Given how the political system has accommodated virtually every demand from the West, this statement is simply meaningless. What is more accurate is something like, ‘despite finding no difficulty in obtaining responses from central government to any demand, the West has signally failed to develop. This leaves a formless sense of complaint with no clear purpose, which can only repeat a rhetoric of neglect even though we are actually in the aftermath of the failure of massive state investment to achieve any result. Possibly, delegating political control would remove the ability to pretend this failure was someone else’s fault. At present, Western politicians can and do play both ends of the game. They get pretty much what they want from central government, and then blame central government when nothing happens as a result of the policy they themselves advocated. Great work if you can get it.’

]If Munster/Connacht(population 1.7 m) had it's own Assembly, then we would have a greater say over issues affecting our own region for spatial planning, health policy, education, fisheries and recreation, within the bounds prescribed by the national government. They would oversee the policy and finances of the County Councils.

I’m not clear if ‘greater say’ or ‘oversee’ means that these Assemblies would be financially independent, and raise their own tax locally. If they don’t they will be perfectly useless – just like the existing regional assemblies (which, admittedly, were only created so that the West could continue to get buckets of EU money.)

[ivnryn]

This could involve an expansion of the size of the county councils. There was a suggestion to reduce the number to around 8 and make them 'regional councils' rather than county councils. Something like:

Dublin City
Dublin County
Rest of Greater Dublin
North Leinster
South Leinster

North Munster
Cork (plus maybe Waterford)

Connacht/Ulster

This gives around 500k per region, there could be 1 councilor per 50k people (ironically giving more TDs than councilors). The problem with county councils is that they are to small, there is an economy of scale with democracy. There are to many councilors, so it isn't really worth the effort to get to know them.

[Schuhart]

We would be better off scrapping the Counties and making Local Authorities that actually reflect demeographics i.e the Cities and there commuter Belts.In other words Metropolitan districts around Dublin,Cork,Limerick,Waterford,Galway,Dundalk.Athl one and Letterkenny/Derry in other words give the Spatial Strategy some bite.

In all seriousness, I think you are on to something here. Breaking past the infantile county allegiences in itself would be a benefit.

[parish pump]

We would be better off scrapping the Counties and making Local Authorities that actually reflect demeographics i.e the Cities and there commuter Belts.In other words Metropolitan districts around Dublin,Cork,Limerick,Waterford,Galway,Dundalk.Athl one and Letterkenny/Derry in other words give the Spatial Strategy some bite.

In all seriousness, I think you are on to something here. Breaking past the infantile county allegiences in itself would be a benefit.

It won't happen.It makes sense,it might negatively effect someones All Ireland chances therefore it'll be a no go.Also the gombeen men will lose control of their fifedoms.Its almost like pre-war China without the private armies.