Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 27 Oct 1994

Vol. 446 No. 5

Written Answers. - Information Services for Councillors.

Michael McDowell

Question:

12 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for the Environment the facilities, if any, that are available from his office or are supported by his office to provide advice, education, representation and training to Local Government public representatives about their powers and functions; if he intends to provide such facilities in a manner similar to the facilities provided to local authority staffs by the publicly funded Institute of Public Administration. [2336/94]

Minister for the Environment (Mr. M. Smith)

Local authorities, their representative associations, and a variety of other bodies organise seminars, workshops, conferences and the like on various aspects of local government and these are widely attended by local councillors. Ministers and officials of my Department frequently attend and contribute to these events. The Institute of Public Administration provides facilities for councillors such as lectures, seminars and conferences, and it produces a quarterly publication, "The Local Authority Times" on issues of interest to local authority members and officials alike.

My own Department published a booklet entitled "Local Government and the Elected Member" in 1991. In addition, many other departmental publications are of direct relevance to local councillors; in some cases, sufficient copies of these are sent to local authorities to permit distribution to each councillor, while in other cases, copies are made available on request, either from the Department or through the local authority.

I have recently been discussing with the local authority associations ways of strengthening their resources and I have agreed a substantial increase in the annual funding of the General Council of County Councils. This should enable the council to develop further its informational and back-up services for councillors.