Vol. 481 No. 1
180 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government when the Government plans to undertake a revision of the local election boundaries to reflect population movement since the 1981 census, which was the basis of the current boundaries; if so, the person or body who will conduct that review; and his views on the desirability of postponing local elections until such revisions are decided. [15465/97]
The need to revise local electoral areas is being examined in the light of the recently published population figures for the 1996 census. Before deciding to make an order revising local electoral areas, the Minister is required under section 32 (2) of the Local Government Act, 1991, amended by the Local Government Act, 1994, to request a boundary committee, established under section 28 of the 1991 Act, to prepare a report and to have regard to it before deciding whether to make the order. If a revision is found to be necessary, the question of whether the local elections would need to be postponed will be considered in the context of the likely timescale for the review.
