Vol. 495 No. 7
650 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 29 of 21 October 1998, the consultative process referred to included any form of consultation with local elected representatives; and, if not, if this will be addressed. [21568/98]
The primary focus of the consultation process under the integrated services project was on end-users of services in the selected areas and front-line staff in State agencies and, therefore, the issue of direct consultation specifically with local elected representatives did not arise. It was carried out under the auspices of ADM Ltd. on behalf of the Inter-Departmental Policy Committee on Local Development. An informal advisory group was established in each area to assist with the consultation process. Research teams for each of the target areas were chosen in consultation with the advisory group.
In some areas, elected representatives may have been directly involved in the process in a personal capacity. In other areas, localised fora, of which elected representatives are members, put forward nominees to the advisory groups. In Dublin's NE inner city, for instance, the research/consultation process was carried out by the ISI group and built on work carried out by researchers over the past two years in which local representatives had been involved.
