Tackling social exclusion is to be one of the main priorities of the newly-established Dublin City Development Board, as part of an integrated economic, social and cultural strategy for the city to 2011.
The 27-member development board, which held its inaugural meeting yesterday, draws together local government, State agencies, local development groups and the social partners to devise a common programme.
The City Manager, Mr John Fitzgerald, said it was another step towards implementing the Better Local Government programme, adding that it would be "stupid and foolish" to assume this goal had been achieved.
Far from being another layer of bureaucracy, he said the board would seek to emulate the type of city-wide partnership which had been the key to success in other European cities - notably Barcelona, which he described as a model for the process.
Dealing with social exclusion would be one of the main priorities, Mr Fitzgerald said.
"It's a problem that is capable of being cracked, but we can't do it on our own. It can only be solved if we get our act together, working with the other agencies."
Among the "overlaps and gaps" that needed to be sorted out were childcare, parenting and the provision of crΦche facilities for families in trouble, Mr Fitzgerald said. "There's never going to be a better time to do it."
