Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 November 2015
242. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his assessment of the implementation of the Local Government Reform Act 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38467/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI refer to the reply to Question No. 22 of 23 April 2015 in which I indicated that I had initiated an operational review in relation to the new arrangements introduced under the Local Government Reform Act 2014. The objective of the review is to consider the operation to date of the revised local government arrangements and implementation of the reform programme and to provide on-going advice, views or proposals, as appropriate, in that regard. The review involves an Advisory Group, on which both elected members and local authority chief executives are represented, together with a Local Government Forum for engagement with the Association of Irish Local Government.
To date, these groups have met on five occasions in total and the feedback thus far suggests that the revised structures are generally operating well but will need more time to bed down fully. The next stage of the review process involves surveys of local authority members and executives in relation to the operation of the new structures and related matters. This process is under way and questionnaires have issued recently to local authorities. The results from this analysis should be useful in helping the Advisory Group to report on how the new system is operating and whether any adjustments might be warranted.
