Mr. Denis Conlan:

The Senator asked how often the municipal district council would meet. That is very much a matter for the members themselves to determine. They will have all these decisions to make for themselves and there is an expectation stated in the document that the districts will take a significant volume of local business away from the county council. The Minister will not lay down the law in that regard.

A good deal of one chapter of the report is devoted to economic development. The Minister sees the role of local authorities in economic development as important and the integration of the local enterprise function into the local government system will be a significant development in that regard, in addition to the alignment of the local development sector which has a significant economic component and drawing on best practice. It is probably a mixed practice currently in that some local authorities have achieved a great deal - others less so - in leading economic development and promoting the attraction of inward investment. The role of local government is far from clear in terms of its legal provisions which will be clarified and strengthened.