Ciarán Cuffe
Ceist:151 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of playgrounds there are in the State; and his proposals for increased provision. [2960/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 3 February 2004
Ceisteanna (23)
Freagraí scríofa
Comprehensive statistics on the number of playgrounds in the State are not available in my Department.
However, under my recently announced initiative, Delivering Value for People: Service Indicators in Local Authorities, local authorities are required to report annually on their performance against 42 service indicators.
Two of those indicators relate to playgrounds, and those will enable comparisons to be made across local authorities on their performance in this area. Specifically, the indicators will show the number of children's playgrounds per 1,000 of population provided directly by the local authority and facilitated by it.
Local authorities will be required to report annually on their performance against the indicators by the end of the first quarter of the following year. Monitoring and verification of performance against the indicators will be carried out by an independent assessment panel, and an annual report on the performance of local authorities against the 42 indicators, incorporating the independent assessment, will be issued to my Department by the Local Government Management Services Board.
Question No. 152 withdrawn.