Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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252. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans for the establishment of a new unified Galway authority; the process and timeline for this merger; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7878/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The merger of Galway City Council and Galway County Council to create a single administrative area was recommended unanimously by the Galway Expert Advisory Group in April 2018. This recommendation was endorsed by a Government Decision in June 2018 and provisions to give effect to this policy decision were included in the Local Government Bill 2018. Those provisions passed all stages in the Dáil but were defeated in the Seanad and were withdrawn.

The logic underpinning the recommendation to merge the two authorities is unchanged and I intend to review the matter in the coming months.