South Dublin County Council

South Dublin County Council (Comhairle Contae Átha Cliath Theas ) is the local authority of the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 to succeed the former Dublin County Council before its abolition on 1 January 1994 and one of four councils in County Dublin. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The council has 40 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are by single transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of Mayor. The county administration is headed by a chief executive, Daniel McLoughlin. The county town is Tallaght, with a civic centre at Monastery Road, Clondalkin. It serves a population of approximately 192,000.

The council is the third largest local authority in Ireland with a population of 265,205 (Census 2011), 90,000 households, and 6,000 businesses, covering an area of 222.74 square kilometres. There are 183,336 local government electors and 174,349 Dáil electors registered to vote in the County Council administrative area.

History
The council of the electoral county of Dublin—Belgard was established in 1985 with 26 members. Its members also sat as members of Dublin County Council. At the 1991 local election, the electoral county was renamed South Dublin.

On 1 January 1994, under the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993, County Dublin and Dublin County Council ceased to exist and South Dublin County Council came into being.

The county council initially met in the Regional Technical College, Tallaght. A new building, County Hall, was purpose-built for the county council and was completed in 1994.

Legal status
The Local Government Act 2001 reformed the two-tier structure of local government in Ireland, although South Dublin had no second-tier areas. It confirmed the size of the council as 26 members. Following the Local Government Reform Act 2014 this number was increased to 40 members as part of a nationwide reallocation of local authority membership numbers.

The Local Government Act 1994 defines how an authority may act. The local authority may provide amenities, facilities and services related to; artistic and cultural activities, sports, games and similar activities, general recreational and leisure activities, civic improvements, environmental and heritage protection and improvement, and the public use of amenities. It may also act as a library authority.

Management
The Corporate Policy Group (CPG) consists of the Mayor together with the Chairs of each of the Strategic Policy Committees (SPC). The CPG is supported by the County Manager. Its function is to co-ordinate the work of the Committees so that policy decisions can be discussed and agreed for recommendation to the full council. "The CPG acts as a sort of Cabinet for the council and is supported by the County Manager."

Mayor and Deputy Mayor
The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are chosen from among the councillors.

Regional Assembly
South Dublin County Council has three representatives on the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly who are part of the Dublin Strategic Planning Area Committee.

Elections
Members of South Dublin County Council are elected for a five-year term of office on the electoral system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) from multi-member local electoral areas (LEAs).

Local electoral areas
South Dublin is divided into LEAs. These are defined by electoral divisions which were defined in 1986, with minor amendments in 1994. The most recent polling scheme was published in 2020.

2024 seats summary
The following were elected at the 2024 South Dublin County Council election.

Councillors by electoral area
This list reflects the order in which councillors were elected on 7 June 2024.

2019 wetlands destruction
In 2019, South Dublin County Council sanctioned the mass dumping of silt in a wetlands park which it had previously vowed to protect. A large part of the park's ecosystem was destroyed, buried under several feet of silt which was then leveled with heavy machinery. The destruction enraged environmental groups, who estimated that thousands of animals were buried and killed, including several protected and endangered species. In response, the council confirmed that they would review their silt disposal process, while admitting no wrongdoing.