Vol. 470 No. 2
35 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Taoiseach the way in which public representatives have their opinions sought, are consulted with and kept informed on major expenditure, namely urban funding and general activities of the area partnerships; his views on whether a formal process should be set up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17916/96]
The 38 area partnership companies operate under sub-programme 2 — the Integrated Development of Designated Disadvantaged and Other Areas — of the Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development, 1994-1999. Their boards include representatives of the State sector, social partners and the voluntary and community sector, as agreed by the then Government and the European Commission when the operational programme was drawn up. Any change in their composition — if that is the Deputy's suggestion — would require the agreement of the Commission and the monitoring committee of the programme.
With a view to informing Deputies and Senators of progress to date under the programme and to allow them an opportunity to exchange views of their experiences of it, I chaired a seminar for Oireachtas Members on 28 March last. Those who attended found it very informative.
Since then — and as I informed the House in reply to Questions Nos. 50 and 54 on 28 May 1996 — elected public representatives are now included in the membership of county strategy groups, whose role is to ensure co-ordination of the local development initiatives. Therefore, public representatives can now contribute, in a more meaningful way, to the development and implementation of co-ordination strategies, for EU funded initiatives, at a county level.
While elected public representatives do not form part of the partnership boards, at present, the Government has accepted the principle that partnerships should be encouraged to invite local authority members to participate in their work. The Government has asked the Minister for the Environment, Deputy Howlin, to prepare a report on how the principle of the primacy of the electoral process should be reflected in the local government and local development systems. In particular, the Minister has been asked to make recommendations on how the distinct role of elected members can best be expressed and supported.
The Minister and I have also been asked by Government to draw up frameworks for partnership and co-operation between local authorities, which embody representative democracy, and local development organisations, which embody participative democracy. We would welcome any suggestions in this regard and would be happy to consider them.
The outcome of these deliberations will inform any decision on whether a formal process, as suggested by the Deputy's question, should be set up.
