Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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636. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if it has been brought to his attention that Sligo County Council's unaudited annual financial statement for the year ended 31 December 2012 was to be considered by councillors at the May monthly meeting of the council on the 13 May 2013; if it has been brought to his attention that consideration of the financial statement had to be deferred because councillors were advised that officials from his Department had sought changes in the financial statement; if it is customary for officials of his Department to scrutinise and insist on changes in local authority annual financial statements in advance of the statements being considered by the respective councils; the changes his Department sought in the financial statement and the reason/s for the changes; the statutory authority, if any, his Department has to seek such changes in advance of the financial statement being considered by the elected council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27809/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Local authorities are required to prepare their annual financial statements in the prescribed format in accordance with the Local Authority Accounting in Ireland Code of Practice and Accounting Regulations, issued by my Department in December 2009 under section 107 of the Local Government Act 2001. This publication is available on my Department's website at

I can confirm that Sligo County Council sought clarification from my Department regarding the appropriate application of the Code of Practice to the preparation of its 2012 annual financial statement.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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637. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if it has been brought to his attention that the Sligo County Manager stated at the February monthly meeting that Sligo County Council had not been charging the full cost of services provided by the county council to the borough council each year and that he indicated that the county council has been subsidising the borough council to the tune of approximately €700,000 a year; if it has further been brought to his attention that there is no record of such an annual subsidy in the Books of Estimates presented to councillors by the county manager each year and and that any decision relating to the provision of such a subsidy is a reserved function of the elected members of Sligo County Council and that the elected members never approved such an annual subsidy; if it has further been brought to his attention that the Local Government Auditor was not provided with any information relating to the annual subsidy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27810/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Section 100 of the Local Government Act 2001 sets out that where a county council provides a service or carries out a function in or in relation to a rating town or borough council, it shall levy a charge known as a County Charge on that town or borough council for providing such a service.

In determining a County Charge, the county council is required to prepare a statement of estimated costs expected to arise during the forthcoming financial year in relation to the provision of those services. The County Charge is provided for in the local authority budget and the elected members of a local authority have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of the authority, including adopting the annual budget.