Local government until recently enjoyed little autonomy, and as such was not held in particularly high esteem by the Irish electorate (Sinnott, 1995, p. 255). It has been suggested that in the Republic of Ireland might reasonably be regarded as merely ersatz versions of general elections (Gallagher, 1989, p. 22) and are on the whole minor battleground where the same parties which dominate national politics engage in the same type of contest as at national elections (Gallagher, 1989, p. 22-3). This was reflected in the 1999 local with the major political parties dominating the local contests. The 1999 local were the first opportunity in eight years for voters in the administrative counties (county councils and county borough councils) to exercise their democratic franchise. As on a number of previous occasions, the local government were deferred from the scheduled date of 1996 (end of the five year term) first until 1998, and then the incoming government elected in June 1997 announced a further deferral of one year. Since the 1991 local government elections, there had been dramatic economic, social and political changes in Ireland. The economic changes were very positive across a range of indicators: growth, employment, inflation and trade. The perception of a poor nation on the fringe of Europe gave way to a new picture of an affluent and dynamic society. There was widespread talk of the emergence of a 'Celtic tiger' economy. This arose from spectacular growth since 1992: per capita GDP, only 60 percent of the EU average in 1960, had risen to 85 percent of the EU average by 1997. Ireland overtook the UK level in 1996 (Haughton, 1998). All political parties view local as an opportunity to recruit potential future national parliamentarians. Being elected to the local council is a valuable stepping stone in a political career. The importance of a strong local profile has been an enduring feature of the Irish political system. The proportion of TDs in recent Dala with local authority experience has fluctuated between 85 and 90 percent. In the twenty-eighth Dail, elected in 1997, 74 percent were members of local authorities when they were first elected and a further 11 percent subsequently became members of a local authority following their first election to the Diil (O'Sullivan, 1999, p. 191). For a number of years the issue of the dual mandate, particularly for office holders was raised. Government ministers and ministers of state were barred from holding local authority seats by the Local Government Act, 1994. The same legislation prohibits Oireachtas members from occupying chair or mayoral positions on local authorities. It is anticipated that the dual mandate will be prohibited from the next local authority scheduled for 2004.