Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that in the Local Government Auditors Statutory Report on the accounts of Sligo County Council for the year ended 31 December 2011, the Sligo County Manager states that the councils 2012 budget was agreed on the assumption that a sum of €4 million income in the draft budget would arise through effective savings by way of redeployment or voluntary transfer opportunities and from a significant voluntary redundancy package; the county manager further stated that because of the exceptional nature of these matters it was decided to show the financial impact as income rather than for the €4 million to be reduced from budgeted payroll charges across all programmes; if at any time in advance of the councils draft budget being published in December 2011 did his Department state that a significant voluntary redundancy package would be introduced in 2012; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Sligo County Manager has stated that the 2012 financial outturn for the council is projected to be a deficit of approximately €2.5 million; if his Department has any role in ensuring that local authorities prepare realistic achievable budgets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56835/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I have received a copy of the audit report on the accounts of Sligo County Council for the year ended 31 December 2011. My Department has written to the County Manager in relation to the audit report and a reply is awaited.

Under the Local Government Act 2001, it is a matter for each local authority to prepare and adopt a balanced annual budget for the coming year.Local authorities are required to adopt budgets which are sufficient to meet the expenditure arising in the year in accordance with the terms of section 10A of the City and County Management Act 1955, as inserted in that Act by section 113 of the Local Government Act 2001.

Given Ireland’s commitment under the EU-IMF programme to reducing the overall size of the public service, the Government decided that targeted voluntary redundancy schemes, as provided for under the Public Service Agreement, may be considered when other options such as redeployment have been fully examined. In order to reach optimum recommended staffing levels, as quickly as possible, consistently across local authorities in the context of, inter alia, work force planning and the shared services programme, targeted voluntary exit mechanisms may be required to supplement redeployment. My Department is considering the requirement for voluntary exit mechanisms in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Sligo County Council is in direct contact with the Public Appointments Service with regard to possible redeployment opportunities.