Does the Boundary Issue Need to be Re-visited?

Waterford is indeed a historic city, with continuous settlement here since 914. We will have an historic anniversary to celebrate come 1014.

The work on The Mall and soon to be redesigned historic mile-long Quays are changing the way we view Waterford ourselves and the way Waterford is viewed from outside. At last, I believe the city is standing up, dusting itself off and beginning to look to the future with hope an confidence. The magnificent Tall ships will once again grace our city come next summer and with that and the activity surrounding the soon to be officially opened House of Waterford Crystal, things are beginning to feel right in Waterford.

But that is not the full story. Our neighbouring local authorities have demonstrated by their actions in the last few years that not only do they covet our prosperity, but that indeed they are prepared to put in place strategies which look to actively damage our historic city and along with it, our potential to deliver not just for for the narrow audience of our own citizens but also our ability to be a driver or the entire region.

This is demonstrated through, for example the huge Shopping Centre - one of the Celtic Tigers' worst examples of bad planning - now lying idle (as they were warned it would be) just outside the northern boundary of the city and also by the TK Maxx debacle, which was eating up jobs from our city centre on our western boarder.

Now it is my estimation that we have enough to be doing in looking after our own affairs that to be trying to fight rearguard actions on our flanks watching what those who refuse to implement proper planning are up to next. This is why I believe that if John Gormley is to make any meaningful changes in local authority systems, rather than just tinkering around and simply putting in place new unrealistic authority boundaries instead of old ones, any change that doesn't take a much closer look will be both a waste of time and a wasted opportunity.

Waterford City should be the administrative authority at the very least for the PLUTS area of South Kilkenny (leave them keep their addresses and GAA loyalties) and also for a large chunk of County Waterford out to and including the dormitory towns of Tramore, Portlaw, etc.

This would, I contend, lead to far better and more cohesive planning and balanced development in the entire area. I have long argued that East Waterford (County) has more affinity with, and in common with, the City than it ever has with those areas in the mid and west of the County.

What about regional authorities? Too many people on them continue to operate with a parochial mindset for them to ever be effective or indeed to place the good of the region over the good of their own small area.

So does the boundary issue need to be re-visited? Yes I would say. Will the boundary issue be re-visited? Well, that's the six-million-dollar question, isn't it?