Mr. Peter Hynes:

I join in Mr. Parnell in thanking the committee for giving us the opportunity to be part of the discussion on a really important topic for all local authorities, particularly those in rural areas with many small towns and villages.

As the Chairman said at the outset, I am wearing two hats. I am chief executive of Mayo County Council. The Mayo story will come through not because we think it is the best or only way to do things, but because it is the one we are most familiar with. I will also attempt to make some remarks on behalf of the sector at large.

The problems of dereliction go back a long way. I do not know if anybody here remembers Galway in the 1980s. I am from Galway originally and my thesis was on the rejuvenation of Galway city centre in 1981. In 1981 the core of Galway - one third if not more - was completely derelict with surface car parks etc. Based on what it has become in 35 or 40 years, it is clearly possible to transform with the right effort and approach.

As every local authority chief executive and member will say, where one comes from and the local authority one works for or represents is the centre of the universe. Therefore, for the next five minutes or so, Mayo will be the centre of the universe.