Editing Local electoral area (section)

==Municipal districts==
A '''municipal district''' ({{Langx|ga|ceantar bardasach}})<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wicklow.ie/Portals/0/Documents/Municipal%20Districts/Wicklow/District-Information/Minutes-Agendas/Agenda%20for%20Wicklow%20MD%20Meeting%2019-10-15.pdf |title=Agenda |date=19 October 2015 |author=Wicklow Municipal District |website=[[Wicklow County Council]] |access-date=2021-02-16 |archive-date=2019-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525155655/https://www.wicklow.ie/Portals/0/Documents/Municipal%20Districts/Wicklow/District-Information/Minutes-Agendas/Agenda%20for%20Wicklow%20MD%20Meeting%2019-10-15.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> is a division of a local authority which can exercise certain powers of the local authority. They came into being on 1 June 2014, ten days after the [[2014 Irish local elections|local elections]], under the provisions of the [[Local Government Reform Act 2014]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.housing.gov.ie/local-government/reform/local-government-reform|title=Local Government Reform|publisher=Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government|access-date=28 January 2014|archive-date=19 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019154407/http://www.housing.gov.ie/local-government/reform/local-government-reform|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite Irish legislation|name=Local Government Reform Act 2014 (2014 Establishment Day) Order 2014|year=2014|type=si|number=215|date=22 May 2014}}</ref> Of the 31 local authorities, 25 are subdivided into municipal districts, which comprise one or more LEA. The exceptions are the three city councils ([[Cork City Council|Cork City]], [[Dublin City Council|Dublin City]] and [[Galway City Council|Galway City]]) and the three county councils in Dublin ([[Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council|Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown]], [[Fingal County Council|Fingal]] and [[South Dublin County Council|South Dublin]]). A district associated with a [[city status in Ireland|city]] or [[borough#Ireland|borough]] is termed a '''metropolitan district''' (''ceantar cathrach'') or '''borough district''' (''ceantar buirge'') respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/2014/act/1/section/19/revised/en/html|title=Revised Acts|website=revisedacts.lawreform.ie|access-date=2021-02-16|archive-date=2021-08-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829140845/https://revisedacts.lawreform.ie/eli/2014/act/1/section/19/revised/en/html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, [[John Paul Phelan]], [[Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage|Minister of State for Local Government and Electoral Reform]], commented in the Dáil:<ref>{{cite web |last1=Phelan |first1=John Paul |author-link1=John Paul Phelan |title=Local Government Bill 2018: From the Seanad |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2019-01-23/speech/320/ |website=Dáil Éireann (32nd Dáil) debates |publisher=Oireachtas |access-date=3 June 2019 |language=en-ie |date=23 January 2019 |archive-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212130708/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2019-01-23/26/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{blockquote|Municipal districts have an extensive list of functions currently, but the situation is haphazard ... some local authorities are better at performing some functions than others. I have found that some local authorities have a strong municipal district structure, with the districts being where most of the nitty-gritty work of local authorities is done, be it roads, footpaths or lights. Some do not have that structure, though, with decisions rehashed or debated again at the councils' plenary sessions.}}