Darragh has as much of a role in appointing the next manager of Manchester United as he has in appointing a 'City Manager' for Drogheda - Nash

A fortnight ago the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, told a gathering of Drogheda’s Fianna Fáil party faithful that he would appoint a City Manager for Drogheda. On Friday however, he admitted to local TD Ged Nash that he doesn't have the power to do so.

Speaking at the launch of Alison Comyn’s general election campaign in Scholars Townhouse Hotel, Mr. O’Brien spoke of “... a city manager, a deputy county manager that will be responsible for Drogheda to drive the projects we need for Drogheda, particularly in the town centre, to reimagine and repurpose the wonderful buildings that are there.”

The next day (September 18th) the FF Press office issued a press release entitled “Louth Fianna Fáil candidate Alison Comyn secures 'City Manager' commitment for Drogheda from Housing Minister” in which O’Brien is quoted as saying: “it is high time that Drogheda had a dedicated representative who would fight for the town at a national level.”

Several people who attended the election launch expressed privately their doubts as to whether it was in the power of the Minister to make such appointments and on Friday last (27th September) Minister O’Brien confirmed in a written Dáil reply to Labour TD Ged Nash that he has “no plans” to change the law to make Drogheda a city because that is outside his remit.

Deputy Nash said: “Minister O’Brien has again confirmed to me on the record of the Dáil – the only forum that matters – that he has “no plans for legislation” to make Drogheda a city.

“He has now restated his position on city status for Drogheda on several occasions in the Dáil in the last two years.  His position has not changed and it won’t change. In fact, he has doubled down. That is the end of the matter.

“In a reply in writing to a separate Parliamentary Question I submitted last week, the Minister with responsibility for local government has formally confirmed to me what we already knew – that it is the Chief Executive of local authorities - and not the Minister- who exclusively has responsibility for ‘the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority.’

“In other words the Minister has no legal function or responsibility whatsoever for appointing ‘Deputy Chief Executives’ or ‘City Managers’ to Councils, or in organising or influencing how Councils themselves are run, structured and staffed.

“That specific Dáil reply goes on to note, rather amusingly, that the Minister has ‘publicly indicated support for any such application for a Deputy Chief Executive role which may be made by the local authority’.

“He said this safe in the knowledge that any serious local authority like ours in Louth, simply cannot make an application for a form of a ‘City Manager’ for a city administration that doesn’t as of now exist in law, and for which he refuses to legislate in any case.

“In truth Darragh has as much of a role in appointing the next manager of Manchester United as he has in appointing a 'City Manager' for Drogheda.

“This kind of magical thinking brings a worrying level of unseriousness to the important business of politics, national and local government and the direction our town and region should be taking over the next few critical years.

“Darragh should drop the shovel, stop digging and cut out the offensive gaslighting of Drogheda."

See our report of the launch of Alison Comyn's election campaign:

Alison sets out her stall for the Dail, secures 'City Manager' commitment for Drogheda