Vol. 492 No. 3
11 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the directions, if any, he has given regarding the involvement of community groups in the context of the setting up of strategic policy committees by the local authorities. [13767/98]
32 Mr. Dukes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the progress, if any, made by the local authorities in relation to the setting up of strategic policy committees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13765/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 32 together.
Strategic policy committees are in the process of being introduced by county and city local authorities. I understand the majority of county and city local authorities have adopted SPC schemes and that many of them have invited groups to come forward for inclusion in the SPC process. Guidelines on the establishment and operation of SPCs were prepared by a broadly based working group, which included councillors, local authority managers and others. These guidelines issued in November 1997.
In February 1998, I held a national seminar day on the establishment of SPCs, attended by city and county councillors and senior city and county officials. The proceedings of this day were published in my Department's document Focus on Strategic Policy Committees: Update March 1998. Both the guidelines and the focus document are in the Dáil library.
These detailed guidelines set out a list of six sectors which should be represented in each local authority's SPC configuration. The community-voluntary-disadvantaged interests were designated as a sector in their own right. Given the broad spectrum of interests and the diversity of the organisations within this sector, the guidelines recognised that the mechanism for the selection of representatives would require special consideration. They therefore advised authorities to consult with the county strategy group and bodies such as the community platform and community workers' co-operative in relation to devising the selection process.
At a recent meeting with the county and city managers I stressed the need for flexibility regarding timescales and criteria in relation to the community-voluntary-disadvantaged sector.
