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Independent candidate Gerry McKeever is calling on Donegal residents to support a new vision for local democracy.
McKeever, who is running to represent Donegal in Dáil Éireann, has placed the restoration of local urban councils at a key element of his campaign, arguing that the 2014 decision to abolish them has had a detrimental impact on the region’s towns and communities.
In 2014, the Dáil voted to dissolve the country’s urban councils, a move McKeever believes has stripped towns in Donegal, and across Ireland, of essential representation and oversight.
These councils, which had significant spending powers, played a vital role in ensuring the well-being of communities by keeping a local eye on the issues that mattered most. As councillors lived and worked among the people they served, they provided an invaluable duty of care that, McKeever argues, is sorely missing today.
“This wasn’t just an administrative change,” McKeever said. “It was an attack on local democracy. Urban councils gave people a voice, a direct line to the decisions being made in the Dáil. And since they were abolished, our communities have suffered, our towns are not being given the attention and resources they deserve. The erosion of local democracy is part of a bigger problem we’re seeing in our society: the weakening of our rights and freedoms and the growing centralisation of power.”
McKeever is adamant that the absence of these councils has contributed to a decline in local law and order, with communities left disconnected from their elected representatives. While he acknowledges that many factors have contributed to this situation, the removal of local governance structures is, he believes, one of the most significant.
But McKeever is not waiting for the government to act. In a bold proposal, he is calling for the creation of voluntary urban councils in Donegal’s largest towns, Ballybofey/Stranorlar, Bundoran, Ballyshannon, Buncrana, Carndonagh, Convoy, Dungloe, Donegal Town, Killybegs, Letterkenny, Lifford, Kilmacrennan, Milford, Ramelton, Gweedore to name but a few.
The Letterkenny businessman suggests that these voluntary councils could hold regular public clinics where local councillors would engage directly with citizens, listen to their concerns, and bring those issues to the authorities in Lifford.
“These voluntary councils would be a way for us to reassert local control over our own communities,” McKeever said. “If one town leads the way, others could follow. We could create a chain reaction across Donegal and beyond, reigniting local democracy and giving people a direct voice in shaping the future of their towns. It’s a step towards rebuilding the trust that has been lost in our institutions.”
McKeever is inviting anyone interested in discussing this idea to reach out to him directly. “This is just the beginning of a conversation. I’m open to feedback, debate, and, most importantly, action. If we’re going to change the future of our communities, we need to start by taking action now.”
With the General Election less than two weeks away, Gerry McKeever’s main campaign policies centres around affordable housing and at the root of this is infrastructure so we can keep our young and our well trained people in Ireland instead of them having no choice but to leave our country.
Gerry believes that the voices of the people in Donegal should be heard in the corridors of power, particularly when it comes to the defective blocks disaster in our county.
Gerry McKeever is an Independent candidate for the 2024 General Election, seeking to represent Donegal in Dáil Éireann. With a deep commitment to local democracy, McKeever is focused on restoring power to communities, reviving urban councils, and giving people a direct voice in shaping the future of their towns and the country.
