Mr. John McCarthy:

The local government auditor produces an annual report drawing together the outcome of the audits of all the local authorities, which comes back into the Department and which we act on. In respect of Sligo, that is where we would draw some of our information.

Deputy Perry has used the phrase "no compassion" in respect of the Department. He has rightly pointed out that I am the Accounting Officer for moneys that go to local authorities through the local government fund. It is against that background that we find ourselves in a situation where we need to come to a sustainable solution regarding Sligo's finances. We have indicated that we are willing to play an extra part in that in terms of providing additional funding. At the same time, it is entirely legitimate that in a situation where the rates collection level in Sligo County Council in 2013 was 59% versus a national average of 77% or 78%, and housing loan collection was at 46%, significantly below the national average, and we are offering to provide additional funding to reach financial sustainability, that a process would be gone through to bottom out areas such as these and staffing levels by comparison to other similar local authorities. We have a shared objective, namely, to get Sligo County Council back on the path to financial stability.