A key objective of
the Government's Programme for Local Government
Renewal is closer partnership between local authorities
and local development bodies (Area partnerships,
LEADER Groups and County/City Enterprise Boards)
operating at local level. While these agencies were
each doing good work, they had to a certain extent
been operating in parallel. This reduced their effectiveness
and led to duplication and overlap in some areas.
Against this background, the Government
in June 1998 established an Interdepartmental Task
Force on the Integration of Local Government and
Local Development Systems, chaired by the Minister
for the Environment and Local Government. The Report
of the Task Force on the Integration of Local Government
and Local Development Systems (August 1998)
was approved by Government and the Task Force has
been mandated to continue in order to oversee implementation
of the Report's recommendations.
One of the principal recommendations
of the Task Force Report was the establishment of
County/City Development Boards (CDBs) in each of
the 29 county councils, and in each of the 5 major
cities to bring about an integrated approach to
the delivery of both State and local development
services at local level. Each CDB is required to
prepare and oversee the implementation of a ten
year county/city Strategy for Economic, Social and
Cultural Development, which will provide the template
guiding all public services and local development
activities locally; in effect bringing more coherence
to the planning and delivery of services at local
level. All thirty four Strategies for Economic,
Social and Cultural Development have now been published. |