Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. This is something I will have to discuss with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and the Minister of Housing, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy O'Brien. Local authorities are principally accountable to their elected members. I believe in local government and do not like to see central government taking over local government. Sometimes that has had to happen and functions have had to be transferred from local government to central government, but it has never been something I have been particularly enthusiastic about, although it has been necessary in some instances. Ultimately, local authorities are accountable to the elected members. We have the National Oversight and Audit Committee, NOAC, which is chaired by former Deputy Michael McCarthy. It is an audit committee and an oversight committee and does valuable work.

I am not sure whether transferring oversight to the Comptroller and Auditor General is a good idea or not. That would bring local government into the realm of the Committee of Public Accounts, which is perhaps what the Deputy would like to see-----

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