The body that represents Town Councils says the new Local Government Reform Bill will fail, if elected bodies, do not have financial autonomy.
The legislation, which will abolish Ireland's town councils, will be published later today.
Under the plans, 80 councils will be abolished - with their powers being transferred to County Councils.
Each Council would then be divided into districts - where Councillors would hold smaller meetings to discuss local issues before moving on to County-wide problems.
The Town Council system costs the State around €310 million a year.
The President of the Association of Municipal Authorities, Councillor Willie Callaghan, says it is critical that all locally elected representative bodies retain the ability to make financial decisions for their local communities:
The plans will also pave the way for Dublin to get its own directly-elected mayor by 2019.
