Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Everyone has spoken so far, including myself, is a former councillor. I have always felt that councillors can be busy. They are not full-time people. Spending is something that needs to be scrutinised and not when the thing is cooked and the budget is prepared and ready to go but rather during the budget process when it is being put together.

Greater care also needs to be taken in the budget process in terms of passing it and following the codes. Everyone can see there is a code number beside everything on local authority budgets. It is a case of following that, questioning that, and following the expenditure over the years. The surest way of putting the brakes on some of the stuff we saw is councillors raising those questions. They may be counted as awkward at times for raising these and they may not be thanked for it sometimes in council chambers, either by some other councillors or indeed by the executive of the council. However, it is very important they do so because they have the mechanism of a public forum and they have the audit committee, which is another mechanism they can use. There are supposed to be at least two councillors on those audit committees and they have to bring a report before the council each year. That is another mechanism they can use.

It would be worthwhile seeking a meeting with representatives of the County and City Management Association, CCMA, and the Association of Irish Local Government, AILG. Deputy Carthy had other suggestions with regard to who else should attend that meeting.