City and County Development Boards

Information

Each county and city in Ireland has a County or City Development Board. These Development Boards are lead by a member of your local government and are also representative of local development bodies in your area, together with State agencies and other social partners. Your City and County Development Board was established to bring together the key agencies and bodies in your area to engage in long-term planning for your city or county over a ten year period.

In every county and city in Ireland, there is a wide range of bodies that work on behalf of the community. For example, local government, state agencies (i.e. VECs, FÁS, county enterprise boards and LEADER groups). The County or City Development Boards bring all these agencies together. This means that there is an opportunity for these partners to agree a common approach about public services that are delivered locally in your area. These public services can include health, education, community development, recreation, infrastructure and employment. Each Board works in partnership and decisions made are by consensus.

Ten-year strategy for your area

In 2002, each County and City Development Board in Ireland published its ten-year strategy. These strategies were essentially about the economic, social and culture development of your county and city. While the strategies are for ten years, they are broken down into three- to five-year targets. These agreed targets not only set down achievable goals but also set in place the agency in your area that will oversee the achievement of these targets.

You can view the Ten-Year Strategy for each County and City Development Board here.

Typical membership of a City or County Development Board

The membership of a City or County Development Board typically consists of:

• Local Government representatives: members can include your county or city councillors, your County or City Manager, your commissioner, etc.
• Local development representatives: LEADER groups, community groups supported by Pobal, representatives of your city or county enterprise board and area partnership companies.
• State agencies operating locally: FÁS, VECs, Garda Síochána, Health Service Executive, Enterprise Ireland, IDA, regional tourism organisations, etc.
• Social Partners: environmental organisations, community and voluntary organisations, trade unions, employer and business organisations, agriculture and farming organisations.

Local community involvement

Throughout Ireland, extensive consultation to develop your County or City Development Plan took place in conjunction with local communities and voluntary organisations. These local communities and voluntary organisations are represented on the boards and facilitate two-way communication between the Board and the local community. In addition, local involvement provides a mechanism whereby everyone can have their opinions raised in relation to the operation and implementation of the Strategy.

Outside of the City or County Development Boards, there are a number of committees or working groups linked to each Board. These committees deal with certain aspects of the Board's work and the County or City Strategy. For example, the committees might examine issues like rural transport initiatives, tourism promotion in your area, youth affairs and promotion of the Irish language.

Further information about your County or City Development Board, its work and its progress to date is available from your local Director of Community and Enterprise. You can also contact the Director through your local authority or City Council.