Arising from the joint ministerial initiative on the review of local and community development structures, the Government agreed a series of measures in January 2004 designed to improve arrangements under which community and local development initiatives are delivered and improve cohesion and focus across various measures. Since then, I have directed the cohesion process, which is informed by the following guiding principles:
Improving on the ground services
Streamlining structures so as to avoid overlaps, duplication and undue administrative overheads
Bringing transparency, co-ordination and improved control to the funding and operation of local and community development measures
Strengthening the democratic accountability of agencies and providers in this area.
As a first step towards improving on the ground services, City and County Development Boards (CDBs) were mandated to oversee the cohesion process at local level and to facilitate the development of cohesion proposals by local agencies. During 2004, a total of €3,248,600 was allocated to the CDBs and Údarás na Gaeltachta in respect of proposals aimed at improving linkages between local agencies, support multi-agency actions and promote sharing of resources to maximise the impact of available funding.
The 2005/2006 phase of the process aims to improve the alignment of local and community development agencies by the end of this year in a way that removes any overlaps and duplication and maximises available resources for the benefit of local communities. The intention is that, from 2007, there will be one unified local development structure providing full coverage in any given area and fewer structures overall in the country. The major advantage of such an approach is that the State will be able to deliver programmes such as the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme (LDSIP) and Rural Social Scheme through these new unified structures because they will have all-area cover.
My preference is for unified overarching structures based around county boundaries where practicable. However, I am prepared to consider variations across county boundaries on their merits.
In 2005, a total of €4,836,927 was allocated from the cohesion fund, including €1,463,400 for volunteering. To date in 2006, a total of €3,852,862 of cohesion funding has been awarded including €76,600 for volunteering. The actions funded under the current round are primarily focused on actions related to the alignment of local development structures, including facilitation, technical assistance, legal advice, corporate planning and training and development of staff. Funding has also been provided for joint service delivery to underpin collaborative actions by agencies directly involved in re-aligning their structures.
At this stage, 23 of the local authority areas and na Gaeltachtaí have fully agreed the integrated structures which will provide full coverage. Discussions are continuing in the remaining areas.
In the context of strengthening the democratic accountability of local development agencies, I intend to put in place new requirements governing the membership of the management structures of the new companies. In this regard, I have asked CDBS, LEADER groups and Partnership companies to provide their views on a draft discussion document setting out a possible composition of the new structures by 16 November.