Vol. 194 No. 3
asked the Minister for Local Government whether the form prescribed for the estimate of expenses under Section 9 of the City and County Management (Amendment) Act, 1955, makes provision for the inclusion therein of the debit or credit balance (as the case may be) estimated to be carried forward at the end of the current financial year.
12.
asked the Minister for Local Government whether it is incumbent on a county manager to include in (a) the estimate of expenses and (b) his report furnished at least seven days before the estimates, the amount of the estimated balances in favour of or against the local authority.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Question Nos. 11 and 12 together. The form prescribed for the estimate of expenses of a local authority under Section 9 of the City and County Management (Amendment) Act, 1955, makes provision for the inclusion therin of the estimated balances in favour or against each service at the end of the current financial year and the amount of these estimated balances should be included in the columns provided, by the manager or the Estimates Committee, as the case may be.
There is no obligation to include the amount of the estimated balances in the report on the estimate of expenses furnished by the manager or the Estimates Committee.
Do I understand the Minister to say that there is no obligation to include it in the report, so long as it is included in the estimates?
Yes.
It must be in one or the other document?
Yes; it must be in a certain column provided for it.
Then to furnish it just before the meeting as a kind of afterthought is not complying with the Act?
That would be correct.
Would the Minister consider calling the specific attention of managers to that function with which they do not seem to be acquainted?
It would help if Deputies who are aware that it has not been complied with brought it to my attention. I am not aware that it has been generally ignored.
It used to be done in Kildare but it was not done this year or last year.
I shall look into it.
Some managers seem to be suffering from loss of memory.
