A change in the manner Galway County councillors do their business is on the way.

The new Chief Executive of Galway County Council, Liam Conneally (pictured), has signalled he is planning to introduce reforms to how Municipal Districts conduct their business.

Speaking at his first Athenry/Oranmore MD meeting this week, Mr Conneally said he would bring the proposals to elected members in the coming weeks.

“I will be looking at the role of MDs and how to enhance them,” he said.

Mr Conneally indicated he would look at how MDs are structured and supported, so that councillors can do as much work as possible at MD level, rather than at the full Council level at plenary meetings.

Currently there are five Municipal Districts of Galway County Council, which represent electoral areas.

There is the MD of Athenry consisting of the local electoral area (LEA) of Athenry/Oranmore; the MD of Ballinasloe consisting of the LEA of Ballinasloe; the MD of Conamara, representing the LEAs of Conamara North and Conamara South; the MD of Loughrea consisting of the LEA of Loughrea and LEA of Gort/Kinvara; and the MD of Tuam consisting of the LEA of Tuam.

The MDs were introduced as part of local government reforms and replaced town councils. Their membership has between six and ten county councillors and they meet monthly to discuss issues relevant to each LEA they represent. They also meeting monthly collectively at plenary meetings.

Mr Conneally has indicated that he wants to devolve more power to the Municipal Districts, so that county councillors can do their work at a local level.

He indicated he would be looking for councillors support for his proposals.