Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I have not yet watched the programme. I did not get a chance. Hopefully I will see it later. I share the view that we have a system of local administration, rather than one of local government. As I spent decades on the council, it is an area I know very well. I would say to Deputy O'Connor that the officials in the local authorities did not assume power; they were given it. That has been the case for decades. Some of us yearn for the reform of local government that would really democratise it and give a greater level of functions more akin to those in other European jurisdictions.

I know the Comptroller and Auditor General has a relationship with the local government auditor or that they share information as appropriate. Will he explain what kind of relationship is there? It seems there is a very clear distinction between local government and the work of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Why were they separated in the first place? I know local government has been included in the Constitution in its own right in recent years and we must be aware of that too.