400. Deputy Catherine Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the Local Government Reform Act 2014 removed the status of Kilkenny as a city, and that it continued to have the special clauses inserted in the legislation to ensure the continuation of this status and elect a mayor in line with all previous legislation enacted, such as the Local Government Act 2001 and all other legislation since the charter of King James 1 in 1609 and if he will clarify this matter and remove any confusion therein. [52934/26]

Section 10 of the Local Government Act 2001 provided for the continued use of the description city in relation to Kilkenny to the extent that description was used before the establishment day, 1 January 2002, and was not otherwise inconsistent with the Act. This provision was retained as part of the local government reforms introduced under the Local Government Reform Act 2014.

The 2014 Act introduced many structural changes in the local government system in Ireland, which came into effect from 1 June 2014. These included the merging of the city and county councils of Waterford and Limerick and the two county councils in Tipperary, the dissolution of town councils, the introduction of municipal districts and a new regional assembly structure.

As part of these reforms, section 22A of the 2001 Act, as inserted by the 2014 Act, provides that a municipal district containing the former borough of Kilkenny be known as the Municipal District of Kilkenny City.