Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

It is an anomaly in comparison to what is expected of other public bodies. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is the standard setter in respect of the accountability of public bodies in Ireland generally. It is, at the end of the day, a matter for the Accounting Officer to explain why there might be different treatment for local authorities.

As the committee knows, I do not audit the local authorities. However, it is something that stands out as being a non-standard presentation of financial statements that there would not be a declaration by the responsible people in relation to the controls they operate. Particularly what would be missing would be an explanation, if there any weaknesses in control or any losses as a result of control lapses, that those would not be disclosed by the entity itself rather than leaving it to the auditor to identify them and report on them individually. That would be my view.