Mr. John McCarthy:

A local government efficiency review group was established in 2009. It produced an initial report and then two further implementation reports, the most recent of which was published in July 2013. As part of that exercise, efficiency savings for the local government sector of €229.6 million were identified across a range of areas, particularly with regard to staffing. The staffing numbers in local government have dropped by approximately 27% in the last five to six years. Savings in procurement and other areas were also identified. Those have been reported on and, in effect, we are seeing them being carried through in the lower expenditure figures. They would account for part of that in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report. There is further work to be done in terms of efficiency and the new National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, will take on the role of the local government efficiency review group by monitoring and reporting on progress.

The lion's share of the next round of efficiencies will accrue from the programme of shared services that local authorities are working on at the moment. The issue with a shared services programme is that it requires an initial upfront investment and it is only in later years that one sees the efficiency savings materialising. When the NOAC is preparing reports in the future I expect that this is where one will see a significant element of further saving.