Vol. 505 No. 7
83 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the seriousness of the reported breakdown in negotiations on the blueprint for local government reform; his views on whether the cause of this was the issuing by employers of a framework document which did not address a number of union concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14725/99]
I assume that the Deputy is referring to the discussions between the local government management services board, representing local authority management, and the unions representing local authority administrative and technical staff on proposals for strengthening local authority management and staffing structures, the implementation of which is one element in the Government's programme for renewing the local government system.
These negotiations have not broken down. Following almost two years of negotiations, final management proposals for the new structures were outlined to the staff side at a meeting on the 17 February 1999 and were formally sent in writing to the unions on 26 February 1999. These proposals addressed all of the issues raised by the unions. While there has been some correspondence between the unions and the board since then, the response of the unions to the management proposals is still awaited.
