The proposed new arrangements for local government in the North constitute a new departure and mark the end of a system which has lasted since 1973.

Elected local authorities first came into being in Ireland in 1899 when a network of urban, rural and county councils were set up. These bodies were left pretty much as they were after Partition in 1922 and continued on up until 1973. In that year, further to the suggestions of the MacCrory Report, the 78 local authorities in Northern Ireland were streamlined into a new total of 26 District Councils, combining urban and rural councils and having their powers drastically reduced. The responsibility for housing was undertaken by the newly-established Housing Executive, health and education previously the business of the County authorities, went to the respective boards, with the Department of the Environment becoming responsible for water and roads. In many areas the local authorities had abused their powers and it was the conviction of the Civil Rights Movement, initiated in 1968, that they could no longer be trusted to use them fairly and impartially. It was envisaged, in 1973, that there would be a top tier of administration, namely a power-sharing Executive and Assembly at Stormont. That latter experiment did last beyond the May of 1974 and for a quarter of a century the 26 District Councils were the only elected bodies where matters of local concern could be voiced, as various attempts at forming a central executive were tried, only to end in failure. 'Tipp O'Neill' used to say all politics is local.

There has been talk for many years of reducing the number of local councils, on the grounds of economy and efficiency. All the cliches of the Thatcher era have been wheeled out: lean, mean, fit, value for money, cost-effectiveness and what have you. In more recent years, during Peter Hain's stint as Secretary of State, there was a proposal to boil the number down to seven. Cue many headlines about the Magnificent Seven and the Seven Super Councils. It ws never made clear just what powers these 'super' councils would have, the Stormont Assembly being somewhat coy about what powers they would devolve down from their own departments to the local level.

The model of seven councils found favour only with Sinn Féin, the other parties arguing for anything from 12 to 15 local bodies, whilst accepting the principle of trimming. With the restoration of the Assembly last May, a compromise figure of 11 district councils has been agreed. The Hain model would have left Omagh a part of a huge swathe of territory stretching from the Donegal/Fermanagh border to the shores of Lough Neagh, an entity which would have been extremely unwieldy from an administrative point of view, and which would have been difficult to justify as 'local' in a manner to which its population could relate. The new deal might have been better thought out if it had amalgamated Omagh and Strabane district councils, currently comprising the Parliamentary constituency of West Tyrone, whilst the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency could have included the Fermanagh district council with that of Dungannon which have long shared a Parliamentary constituency.

As the veteran Omagh district councillor Seamus Shields has observed, the historic County of Tyrone will lose its identity and integrity as any sort of entity: Strabane will be lumped in with Derry; Omagh with Fermanagh; and Dungannon and Cookstown with Magherafelt. Not all of the Tyrone administrative centres will surve the shake-up.

The proposal to merge Omagh with Fermanagh will inevitably bring about a struggle to determine where the headquarters of the new council administration is to be located. Omagh well knows the power of the Fermanagh lobby, as witness the recent campaign to retain hospital services in Omagh. Strabane, Derry and Newry are regarded as border towns, and have historically suffered from neglect. Say boo to Fermanagh and you are jeopardising 'The Frontier' that has long been the argument from politicians in Fermanagh, from Basil Brooke to Ken Maginnis.

Very little of the reaction to the new proposals has had much to say about the job security of local government staff. It is the policy of Finance Minister Peter Robinson to cull employment in the public service. He has made that clear in his 'budget' speech, the term given to the pocket money which Westminister allocates to its Stormont subsidiary. It is estimated that, whereas the number of elected councillors may go down by about 150 or so, the number of council workers to go could be as high as 2,000 to 2,500. That is not a pleasant prospect for people who have given years of loyal and faithful service. Some may get some sort of severance payment; some may find other employment in the public realm; some may not.

All these changes are reportedly done to save money. So, can we expect a reduction, or a slowing down of the increases in our rates bills? What do you think?

In evidence the court heard that neighbours had summoned the police when a party in the neighbourhood got very noisy, and gave no signs of breaking up, even in the middle of the night. Some of the revellers had proven to be difficult to reason with and several had been arrested under the provisions of the public order legislation. The organisers of the party said that the function was being held to mark the imminent return of several friends to their country of origin, after they had been discovered to be illegal immigrants, without work permits. In the opinion of their friends, they were loyal and reliable mates, and they were sorry to see them go. That was why some of the guests had become so emotional. "What you might call," said the RM, "an occasion to remember the faithful deported."

Omagh's Old Market Place has recently been in the news. There is nothing new about this. From an Omagh newspaper in 1956: "The recent spate of local prosecutions against men playing pitch and toss in Old Market Place, Omagh, would suggest that the police are now waging an intensive campaign against such. For many years the 'art' has been thriving in the town, financed chiefly, by the unemployed, or the unemployable, and with a few weekly wage-earners.

Bureaucrats at Stormont have been exercising themselves about whether the 'D' in the title Deputy First Minister should be a big 'D' or a small 'd'. The First Minister, the Deputy First Minister, their Junior Ministers, eight senior civil servants and the Speaker have consulted and issued a 50-page memo. It seems that correspondence addressed to the office uses the lower case 'd'. Correspondence coming out uses the upper case 'D'. Shades of 'Gulliver's Travels'.

A North Down councillor has urged the council to write to Marks and Sparks reprimanding the firm for advertising a locally sourced product as 'Irish Cream' when, sez the councillor, it ought to read 'Northern Irish Cream'.

Years ago, John Taylor raised a row on being served Kerrygold butter on a BEA flight from Belfast to London. What is it with unionist politicians and dairy products?

So many pedestrians, using mobile phones, have walked into lamp posts in East London that the council is to put padding around them, as in rugby goal-posts. It's worth a try.