The Westmeath County Development Board - the first county development board to be set up in the midlands under local government reforms - has been launched in Mullingar by the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke.
The board, which includes representatives of the voluntary and commercial sector, will have a long-term strategic planning role and will oversee the formulation of the county development plan. Its remit is to ensure that local, social and cultural groups, among others, have an input into strategic planning.
The director of Westmeath County Development Board is Mr Pat Gallagher, a former Lab our senator, and its chairman is Mr Tom Crowley.
Mr Crowley, a Fianna Fail member of Westmeath County Council, made history last year when he was one of only four councillors to be nominated from Kilbeggan to contest four available seats on the council.
As Mr Crowley's name was first to be drawn from a hat, he was the first member of a local authority to be returned in the 1999 elections.
The County Development Board will include representatives of Athlone and Mullingar local authorities and will oversee planning for the expansion of Athlone, should it be selected - as commentators have predicted - as one of the State's "growth gateways" as part of the proposed spatial development strategy.
The development board is expected to meet about six times a year. Its meetings will not be open to the public or the media, but it is planned to issue a report to the media after each meeting.
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