A Mayo Sinn Fein councillor claims Minister Phil Hogan missed the point, when announcing his plans last week to reform local Government.

Proposals to abolish Town Councils, and cut the number of local authorities from 114 to 31 are being discussed today at a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment.

Under the plans, a total of 80 town councils will be merged into new municipal districts, in a bid to create a more efficient local authority system.

However, Councillor Gerry Murray claims most people do not care what structures are in place for local authorities – but rather, how efficient the council is in dealing with roads, water and other essential services…….