Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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646. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if local authorities and his Department will consider bestowing town status on the heavily populated Westbury Shannon Banks community in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33867/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Local Government Reform Act 2014 established municipal districts as the fundamental sub-county level of governance and democratic representation in the State. Separate town councils are not provided for under the Act. Municipal districts are a key decision-making component, with specified reserved powers, of plenary councils and each municipal district can include several towns and their hinterlands.

The Programme for Government specifically commits to ensuring a strong voice for towns at the heart of local authority decision making. It also commits to considering the review by the Institute of Public Administration regarding the role and operation of municipal districts with a view to strengthening local democracy and to identifying local needs and initiatives needed to strengthen and grow our communities, villages and towns in a sustainable manner. This review, which was published on 25 June 2020, is available on the Institute's website at .