Cllr Michael O'Brien
As President of the Association of County & City Councils (ACCC), Councillor Michael O’Brien, is now the leader of elected local government in Ireland. The ACCC is Ireland’s local government umbrella representative association serving the interests of 883 members of city councils, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, as well as the nation’s 29 county councils. Through its membership, the ACCC speaks for more than 90% of the total budget spent on local government in the State.
This honor for the Labour Party is also significant because Cllr. O’Brien was previously chosen by his peers as their ACCC President (formerly known as The General Council of County Councils) in 1994 and 2005. For many years he is widely regarded as a leading expert in local democracy. During his political career he has the distinction of serving on two major reform projects, the 1996 ‘Commission on Town Local Government’ and the 2007 ‘Consultative Committee on Local Government Reform’.
The Commission findings had a major influence on the landmark 2001 Local Government Act. In particular, for placing a new legislative principal of local government into domestic law, establishing primary status for county and city councils and positioning local area committees as a strategy for future reform. The ‘Green Paper’ findings will have a major influence on whatever emerges from the Government’s update of this reform under the Fine Gael/Labour Party ‘Programme for Government’.
Michael O’Brien has had a central role in the Association’s reorganization of itself in recent years. This process included relocation of H/Q to Maynooth, the creation of a forward policy on local government structures and the repositioning of its future role. During his previous ACCC leadership term, Michael initiated the change to its present title, decided in Kilkenny in 2005; this was designed to reflect the local government tier re-alignment of the cities and counties within the 2001 Local Government Act.
Following his election to Kilkenny County Council in June 1979, Michael served Party interests as a candidate for Labour in every local election since then. Throughout that period he was an integral part of the Carlow/Kilkenny Labour Party triumphs. He contested the General Elections in 2002 and 2007 and was Leinster Constituency Substitute Candidate in the 1989 European Election. In 2011 he was Constituency Director of Elections for the successful recapture of Labour’s seat by Ann Phelan TD.
Additionally, from 1982 to 1988 he served on the Party’s Administrative Council, and was part of Labour’s 21st Century Commission. `Was Labour Councillors Association Leader; up to and including the 2009 elections; when our Party returned the highest number of local elected councillors in its long history. Leader of the Socialist Group of the CLRAE in Strasbourg from 1994 – 1999.
Some of Michael O’Brien’s public service profile at local, regional, national and international levels:
a) Kilkenny County Council 1979 to date. Chairman, 1982 / 1987 / 1992 & 2009
b) County Kilkenny Vocational Educational Committee 1979 to 1992
c) Association of County & City Councils 1981 to date. President, 1994 / 2005 & 2011
d) South Eastern Health Board 1981 to 1999. Chairman, 1991
e) Association of Irish Health Boards, 1981 to 1997. Health Services Executive (South) 2005 to date
f) New Ross Harbour Commissioners 1989 to 1994. Chairman 1989 to 1991
g) Waterford Port Authority 1994 to 1998. Irish Ports Authority Chairman, 1995
h) Congress of Local & Regional Authorities of Council of Europe (CLRAE), Strasbourg, 1986 to 1999
i) Congress Bureau Vice-President, 1996. Honorary Pro Merito Award Recipient 2003
j) Member of 1995 Commission ‘Towards Cohesive Local Government – Town & County’
k) Member of 2007 ‘Green Paper Consultative Committee on Local Government Reform’
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