Local Councils in Northern Ireland
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Northern Ireland is divided into 26 Local Council areas. The Local Councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom, e.g. they have no responsibility for education, for road building or for housing. Their functions do include waste and recycling services, leisure and community services, building control and local economic and cultural development.
The current pattern of local government in Northern Ireland, with 26 Local Councils, was established in 1973 to replace the previous system established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. The system is based on the recommendations of the Macrory Report, of June 1970, which presupposed the continued existence of the Government of Northern Ireland to act as a regional-level authority. The Local Council structure and the structure of other areas of public services in Northern Ireland is being reviewed by the Review of Public Administration and is likely to result in a significant reduction in the eventual number of Local Councils.
Councillors are elected for a 4-year term of office under proportional representation using the Single Transferable Vote (STV)system. In order to qualify for election, a councillor must be 21 years old, a British subject or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland and either: be a local elector for the district; or have during the whole of the 12-month period prior to the election either owned or occupied land in the district, or resided or worked in the district.
Elections were last held in 2001 and take place every four years. In those elections a total of 582 Councillors were elected. The next elections are due to take place in May 2005.
For local government, Northern Ireland was previously divided into six counties and two county boroughs, with various rural districts and urban districts in the counties. This system, with the abolition of rural districts, remains the model for local government in the Republic of Ireland.
See also
- Local Councils in Northern Ireland by population
- Local Councils in Northern Ireland by area
- Local Councils in Northern Ireland by community make-up
External links
- OnlineNI - Local Council Websites (http://www.onlineni.net/index/about_ni_gov/local_councils.htm)
- NI Local Government Association (http://www.nilga.org/)
- Review of Public Administration NI (http://www.rpani.gov.uk/)
- Macrory Report (http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/hmso/macrory.htm)
- Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 (http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/hmso/lgba1971.htm)