Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2022
662. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if funding (details supplied) that has been allocated has been drawn down and spent; if there has been a follow up or appraisal on the funding given under the various programmes or headings; if any of the allocated funding has been recouped or unspent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20399/22]
View answerThe funding system that applies to local authorities in Ireland is a complex one, as those authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government including my Department but also other government departments and state agencies. Most of the funding from Central Government to local authorities must be used for specified services. These can be grouped into 5 broad programme categories: housing, transport, recreational, education and environment.
My Department has a wide and diverse business agenda, covering a broad range of functions, including local authority housing, voluntary housing, homeless services, estate regeneration, energy efficiency retrofitting, housing grants, rural water schemes, urban renewal/regeneration, and fire services. In order to achieve its business objectives, my Department allocates significant resources to an extensive range of organisations, including local authorities, dedicated agencies, and other bodies; some allocations, depending on the programmes concerned, are made on a national or other non-county basis in the form of grant funding.
Grant funding is provided primarily on the basis of vouched expenditure, as opposed to specific up front annual allocations, once all necessary requirements as detailed in grant assistance schemes are met by the bodies/organisations concerned and that appropriate systems and procedures are in place to ensure the exercise of proper financial controls. Local Property Tax (LPT) allocations are an exception to this, as LPT has replaced exchequer funded general purpose grants, and, for the most part, forms part of local authority expenditure as decided by the elected members in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 2001.
All Departments have an individual responsibility in relation to the management and accountability for grants in accordance with Circular 13/2014. Furthermore the Local Government Audit Service has a primary function in providing an independent opinion on the Annual Financial Statements of Local Authorities, and this function provides independent scrutiny of local authorities and other local bodies.
