Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 November 2014
149. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if it has been drawn to his attention that it is a reserved function of the elected members to adopt a council budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44747/14]
View answerThe Local Government Act 2001, as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014, provides the legislative basis for the local authority budget process. It is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources. The elected members of a local authority have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of the authority, which includes adopting the annual budget, and are democratically accountable for all expenditure by the local authority.
Local authorities are required to adopt budgets which are sufficient to meet the expenditure arising in the year in accordance with the terms of section 10A of the City and County Management Act 1955, as inserted in that Act by section 113 of the Local Government Act 2001.
