§ Mr. McGradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many area co-ordinators will be appointed to the rural development division of the Department of Agriculture; and where they will be located;
(2) what is the membership and terms of reference of the recently established Rural Development Council for Northern Ireland;
(3) when the Department of Agriculture will publish a summary, conclusions and recommendations in respect of the work of the interdepartmental committee on rural development.
§ Mr. HanleyI have asked officials to prepare a summary of the work, conclusions and recommendations of the interdepartmental committee on rural development. This will be available for publication when the pressures of establishing the Rural Development Council and the co-ordination structure for rural development within the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland permit.
Work to establish a Rural Development Council is under way with the intention to have it in operation early in the 1991–92 financial year. Membership will be drawn from a wide spectrum of rural interests and I will make a further statement as soon as possible.
While the number of co-ordinators ultimately required will depend on the workload which arises, initially three will be appointed and located in the south, west and north of the Province.