Kathleen Lynch
Ceist:65 Kathleen Lynch asked the Taoiseach the progress, if any, that has been made with regard to the OECD country review of local development in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13642/96]
Written Answers. - OECD Local Development Review.
The OECD report titled Ireland, Local Partnerships and Social Innovation was launched by the Minister of State for European Affairs and Local Development, Deputy Gay Mitchell, on 30 May 1996 at a conference held in Dublin Castle. Copies of the report have been placed in the Dáil Library.
The report is being considered at a policy level by my Department and other Government Department and other interested local development organisations. The report will inform the International Conference on Local Development which will be held in Dublin in November 1996. This will be the first major international conference on local development. It will focus on the Irish experience of local development; the role of local development in addressing critical issues facing the Union, such as unemployment and social exclusion; and it will bring together policy makers, administrators and people working in local development throughout the Union. The aim is to promote and increase awareness of local development as a means of addressing these critical issues.