asked the Minister for Local Government if he will state the amount standing to the credit of the reserve fund of the Laoighis County Council on 31st March, 1951, and if any portion of this sum can be used by the council to meet a possible deficit for the current year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Laoighis County Council Reserve Fund.
I understand from the local authority that there was a net credit balance of something over £40,000 in the revenue account at 31st March, 1951, and that £9,815 of this amount was taken into account in the estimate for the current financial year. It is for the local authority to decide, with the assistance of their legal adviser, whether any portion of the remainder of the credit balance may be applied to current expenses.
Would the Minister say clearly whether the allocation of money from the reserve fund for the purpose mentioned in my question is a matter to be decided by the members of the county council or is a reserved function of the manager?
I can only say, as I have tried to say in answer to the question, that it is a matter for the local authority with the assistance of their legal adviser.
I would like to know—I do not want to press the Minister unduly—who is the local authority in a matter of this kind.
Depending on the apportionment of functions, it could in one case be the members and in another the manager.
Was it not intended that the allocation and raising of finance should be a matter for the members of the county council?
I have not stated that it was not.
The manager is a problem here.