01 June 2007
Plans to set up seven 'super-councils' in Northern Ireland are to be re-examined. This paves the way for the formation of a larger number of authorities and a delay in their establishment until 2011.
Environment Minister Arlene Foster, of the Democratic Unionist Party, won support from the Northern Ireland Executive to reopen the local government dimension of the Review of Public Administration, which reported last year. She hoped a cross-party consensus could now emerge in support of revised arrangements.
The review called for the 26 existing district councils to be replaced with seven larger authorities, with substantially increased powers, in April 2009. But all major political parties, except Sinn Féin, have criticised the proposals.
A scoping exercise to decide the remit of the new review will be completed by the end of June, but it is not yet known how long the full review will take.
A Department of Environment spokesman said it was now accepted that the 2009 timetable was unachievable and that 2011 was a more likely launch date for the new councils. Any final decision on their composition will need cross-community support within the Assembly.
PFjun2007
