Vol. 481 No. 2
122 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the relationship the National Association of Building Co-Operatives Society Limited has to Government Departments; the way in which it is funded; the way in which it accounts for the funding; the body which appoints its board; and the way in which it is held accountable. [15835/97]
In so far as my Department is concerned, the National Association of Building Cooperatives Society Ltd. is a body approved for the purposes of section 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979, as amended, and section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992. Under section 3 of the 1979 Act my Department grant aids the administrative and general expenses of NABCO and receives certified statements of expenditure in this regard. In addition, NABCO is subject to the provisions of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993, which enables the Comptroller and Auditor General to inspect, at his discretion, accounts, books and records of any body which receives 50 per cent or more of its gross income in any year of account directly or through an intermediary from public funds.
As an approved body under section 6 of the 1992 Act, NABCO provides housing under the voluntary housing capital assistance and rental subsidy schemes operated by the local housing authorities. In providing housing under these schemes voluntary bodies are subject to the oversight of the housing authority and in relation to funding, in particular, these bodies must ensure that adequate accounting procedures are adopted to monitor capital expenditure and income in respect of the initial development of their housing projects and thereafter maintain a separate current income and expenditure account in respect of ongoing operational costs. These accounting records are required to be open for inspection by the housing authority.
