Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply, but it raised more questions than it provided answers. We are heading into new territory. These are as yet untested waters. If the mayor is accountable to the chamber within the local authority but the accounting officer is the chief executive officer, there is the probability, I would think, of conflict between the two offices from time to time over certain issues. There may be a particular policy position the mayor wants to drive forward and the chief executive officer, as accounting officer, may feel that it is untenable. We were talking earlier at the transport committee about multi-annual budgets and the like. A mayor may want to drive a project that has a five-year lifespan. The chief executive officer, as accounting officer, may feel that he or she cannot really commit to that because he or she cannot commit five years ahead in the context of a budget. I see areas of difficulty here. We cannot really refer to the chief executive officer as the chief executive officer any more if the buck stops with the mayor.