Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 22 Apr 1997

Vol. 478 No. 1

Written Answers. - Financial Management.

Noel Ahern

Question:

44 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Finance the system, index or information procedures, if any, available or under consideration for the general public which would give an indication of the level of financial waste in the running of Government schemes, projects and so on; the measure or mechanism, if any, which could be initiated on this and a base line established by which future Governments and Government Departments could aim at and try to reduce; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10600/97]

Minister for Finance (Mr. Quinn)

The Comptroller and Auditor General, in his audit of the Appropriation Accounts of Government Departments, has a role in identifying and reporting to Dáil Éireann on instances where he perceives loss, waste or uneconomic expenditure. This role was given statutory effect in the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993. The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the Appropriation Accounts each year highlights such instances which are followed up with the accounting officers by the Committee of Public Accounts.

Section 9 of Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993 also empowers the Comptroller and Auditor General to carry out specific examinations as he considers it appropriate in relation to economy and efficiency in the use of resources by a Government Department, or person, or by the manager of a fund; the effectiveness of certain management systems — the systems procedures and practices employed by a Department to evaluate the effectiveness of its operations — may also be examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General. These examinations are generally known as "value for money" examinations. The Comptroller and Auditor General has completed and published 12 reports of such examinations.

The Comptroller and Auditor General, an independent constitutional officer, was granted wide-ranging powers under the 1993 amendment Act to draw attention to instances of financial waste. The reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General — on the Appropriation Accounts and the "value for money" examinations — are available to the general public. I consider that the present arrangements for identifying instances of financial waste in Government Departments and other bodies audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and for making the information available to the general public, are satisfactory.