Vol. 508 No. 1
598 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he is considering greater flexibility in the use of capital account resources by local authorities in the context of advancing local government reform; the reason decisions in relation to the expenditure of capital account resources by a local authority must still be accepted by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17984/99]
Capital spending by local authorities is funded, in the main, by grants from my Department, and these grants are voted by the Dáil for the programmes indicated in my Department's Estimate. It would not be appropriate to permit a degree of flexibility to local authorities in regard to this spending which would amount to the ability to reprioritise or reallocate funding provided by the Dáil for a particular purpose or purposes. My Department is working with local authorities on the development of new accounting and financial management policies and systems and capital accounting is under review as part of this work. Should the Deputy have views on any particular aspects of capital accounting policies, I will be glad to have them considered.
