Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is the authority responsible for

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown ( ga, Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three s ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is one of three local authorities that succeeded the former

Dublin County Council Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland. History The county council was established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Its headquart ...

on its abolition on 1 January 1994 and one of four councils in the old

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

. As a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

, it is governed by the

Local Government Act 2001 The Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37) was enacted by the Oireachtas on 21 July 2001 to reform local government in the Republic of Ireland. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002. The act was a restatement and a ...

. The council is responsible for

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

and community, roads and

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

ation,

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

and development, amenity and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

, and

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

. The council has 40 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

. The head of the council has the title of

Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach, who has held the off ...

(Chairperson). The county administration is headed by a

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, Frank Curran. The

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

. It serves a population of approximately 206,260.

History

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council came into being on 1 January 1994. Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council traces its history back to local government structures that have existed in the area since 1834. The Council was established under the

Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 The Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 was an Act passed by the Oireachtas. It abolished the County Dublin and awarded county status to: * Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown and established Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council, * South Dublin and est ...

by the merger of the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire and that part of

that chiefly corresponded to the former Rathdown No 1 Rural District. The two sides of the County have distinct histories in terms of local government structures. On the

side of the County, the Borough of Dún Laoghaire had been established by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930 as a successor body to Kingstown (later Dún Laoghaire), Blackrock, Dalkey and Killiney

Townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

. Those Commissioners for Kingstown were established in 1834 and were subsequently renamed Kingstown Urban District Council and then Dún Laoghaire Urban District Council. On the Rathdown side of the County,

and Rathdown No. 1 Rural District Council were established under the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, ...

. Rathdown No. 1 Rural District Council was abolished by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930. On its formation, the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

in Dún Laoghaire became the headquarters of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council. It was subsequently renamed County Hall.

Local Electoral Areas

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council has 40 seats, which is divided into the following seven

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average po ...

s, defined by

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

Councillors

2019 seats summary

Councillors by electoral area

This list reflects the order in which councillors were elected on 24 May 2019. ;Notes

Co-options

Changes in affiliation

Controversies

M50 and compensation to Jackson Way Properties

An agreement was reached for Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council to compensate Jackson Way Properties by €12,860,700 for the compulsory purchase in October 1998 of its freehold interest in the lands, adjoining the M50 motorway. The Council agreed to pay costs and expenses properly incurred by Jackson Way Properties in relation to preparation and submission of its claim. The 2003 award total is broken down as follows: * Land taken – €9,691,000 * Injurious affection – €2,296,700 and * Disturbance – €873,000. It had been the view of the

Criminal Assets Bureau The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) ( ga, An Biúró um Shócmhainní Coiriúla) is a law enforcement agency in Ireland. The CAB was established with powers to focus on the illegally acquired assets of criminals involved in serious crime. The aims ...

(CAB) that €4.2 million of this award represents the present value of corrupt enrichment by the property owners although this view is based on hearsay evidence given by Frank Dunlop. A company called Paisley Park Investments Ltd were registered as full owners in 1992 and the land was transferred to Jackson Way Properties in 1993, the beneficial owners of which are believed by CAB to be arcade owner James Kennedy and solicitor John Coldwell. However, in January 2014 the freezing order was lifted owing to the collapse of the associated political corruption trial involving Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Cathaoirleach Tony Fox; damages were subsequently sought against CAB by Jackson Way. In early 2016, the Office of the Information Commissioner found against the council for refusing to comply with a

Freedom of Information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, indigeno ...

request relating to the case, stating as follows, "I find it very difficult to accept that the Council holds no records coming within the scope of the request that cannot be released to the applicant under the FOI Act. It seems to me that the Council adopted a blanket approach to the request by claiming that the exemptions applied to all records coming within the scope of the request and did not conduct a record by record examination."

Criminal Assets Bureau investigation

The

(CAB) successfully obtained a High Court order on 26 July 2006 freezing land assets of at

Carrickmines Carrickmines () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area, still semi-rural, was historically on the border of English control and featured a defensive construction, Carrickmines Castle, which became the subjec ...

, owned by Jackson Way Properties Ltd and preventing their sale. CAB contended that these lands had been rezoned on 16 December 1997 by Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council from agricultural to industrial use after Frank Dunlop bribed and made

corrupt Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

payments to councillors to secure their support in the rezoning vote. That vote increased the value of just of the property from €8 million to €61 million. CAB has interviewed and taken statements from Dunlop and will use him as a witness against a number of property developers; Dunlop served a jail sentence for corruption in Arbour Hill from May 2009 to July 2010. The lands in question have been the subject of investigation by the

Mahon Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a public inquiry in Ireland established by Dáil Éireann in 1997 to investigate allegations of c ...

in 2003 and 2004. ''Criminal Assets Bureau v. Jackson Way Properties'' was due for hearing in the High Court Dublin in October 2010, which was vigorously defended with Jackson Way denying any wrongdoing and Mr Kennedy a

tax exile A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...

currently living in Gibraltar returning to give evidence in the case. Jackson Way gave the court notice that they intend to subpoena councillors to give evidence. No Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown representative to date has been charged with any form of wrongdoing in relation to rezoning, likely because in January 2014 the freezing order was lifted owing to the collapse of a political corruption trial involving Frank Dunlop and Jacksonway's subsequent legal proceedings against CAB.

Revenue generation

There have been complaints about the Council's policies regarding commercial rates and parking charges and also complaints from business owners in the town about the way in which the Council enforces the collection of parking charges and fines. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown local authority area has the second highest level of revenue generation of local authorities in the state after Dublin City.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Local government in County Dublin County councils in the Republic of Ireland Politics of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown