Vol. 516 No. 1
32 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the position regarding the county strategy groups which were set up by his predecessor; if the terms of reference of these groups are under review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2707/00]
Paragraph 11.4 of the Operational Programme for Local Urban and Rural Development 1994-1999 provided for the establishment of county strategy groups with the remit to secure the cohesion, from a county perspective, of the various local development initiatives being undertaken by the State and voluntary sectors.
The issue of future integration and better linkages within and across publicly-funded programmes to provide a cohesive framework for the delivery of local services has been a key priority of this Government. To this end, it set up the Task Force on the Integration of Local Government and Local Development Systems in 1998, under the chairmanship of the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey.
The former Minister of State in this Department, Deputy Flood, was a very committed member of this task force, which published its recommendations in August 1998 and which were agreed by the Government.
Central to the task force's recommendations was to replace the county strategy groups by the establishment of county-city development boards in 2000 whose primary functions will be to draw up a comprehensive strategy for economic, social and cultural development by January 2002 within the county-city and to oversee and work towards the implementation of the strategy. The boards will be assisted in their work on the strategy by the appointment of a director of community and enterprise to each board.
