An article in The Irish Times of November 27th incorrectly stated that the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Noel Dempsey TD, had canvassed opposition party members in favour of postponing the local elections until 1999.

This article also incorrectly stated that Mr Dempsey implied that new funding mechanisms would take effect before January 1999. It is now accepted that at no stage did Mr Dempsey imply that such funding mechanisms would take effect before January 1999 and that the article was incorrect in relation to both these points. These errors are regretted by The Irish Times.