How many Dubliners would, if asked, describe the Corporation as "modern and progressive"?
When the people of Co Westmeath were recently surveyed on their attitudes to their local authority, six out of 10 thought it was doing a good job.
This, the second survey commissioned by the council in five years, found the satisfaction level to be 66 per cent overall, with 77 per cent of the people of Kilbeggan most satisfied.
Ms Ann McGuinness, the Republic's first woman county manager and a Dubliner to boot, is delighted about the findings, which were issued this week.
"We are particularly pleased that the satisfaction ratings with the council remain so high. Over the past five years we've had to provide an ever-increasing range of services for more people than ever in the county," she said.
Ms McGuinness said Westmeath was the first of the local authorities in the State to ask people what they thought of it and how they would like resources to be concentrated in the future.
She said there had been dramatic changes in the council area within the last five years, during which the population had risen to more than 67,000 from 58,000.
The survey found that 56 per cent of residents of the county were working either full or part-time, up from 47 per cent in 1995.
There was a doubling of the numbers leaving the county each day to go to work; up from 6 per cent to 12 per cent. Commenting on these findings, Ms McGuinness said the large number of people leaving the county to work each day posed a challenge for the council.
"We must make sure areas of the county aren't allowed to become solely dormitory towns, but are developed in a balanced manner, so that people feel valued as part of their local community," she said.
Employment in the past five years has risen by 9 per cent, with over half of all working residents working in Mullingar or Athlone.
One of the most interesting findings of the survey was that almost one-third of the population now have access to the Internet, with 18 to 34-yearolds most likely to use it.
This has led the council to start work on the development of its own website to extend the range of two-way communication between the people and the local authority.