Mr. Brian Keaney:

I thank the Senator for his kind words.

The institute works very closely on continuous professional development with elected members. We have been partnering with the Office of the Planning Regulator on training sessions throughout the country even during Covid and lockdown. We will have our annual conference on 7 and 8 April. I am happy to publicise this to the committee. The points about subsidiarity are well made. The strength of local government is the representation through local councillors. Much of the work we have been doing on continuous professional development is about empowering local councillors and informing them on the changes in policy and putting them in a position where they are able to shape and form it. I am happy to continue this and take back the comments on it.