The first town boundary alteration – Killarney – to be effected by any Minister in recent years was implemented from 1 January this year. Castlebar, Ballina and Westport are the next cases for consideration and are currently being examined by my Department; the relevant applications were received in May 1999, December 1999 and April 2000 respectively.
The examination of these three cases is close to completion taking 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. My Department is currently awaiting information from the relevant local authorities. When received, a final decision can be taken on these applications so that any boundary alteration would come into operation from the start of the next financial year, 1 January, 2002.
Question No. 507 answered with Question No. 78.