Vol. 535 No. 1
407 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the position regarding the extension of the urban boundary of Castlebar, County Mayo; when the order was made; if the extension has been formally legalised and signed by him; and when he expects the areas covered by the extension to be taken over by Castlebar UDC. [11778/01]
The first town boundary alteration, Killarney, to be effected by any Minister in recent years was implemented from 1 January this year. Castlebar and Ballina are the next cases for consideration and are currently being examined by my Department; the relevant applications were received in May and December 1999. An application for Westport was received last week. The examination of these three cases will take account of the financial, planning and other considerations both as regards the towns concerned and the cumulative impact of these proposals for the county council. Once this assessment has been completed, and the objective would be later this year subject to the supply of any data which may be required, a decision can be made on the boundary alterations. Any boundary alteration would come into operation from the start of the next financial year.
