Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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194. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if it has been drawn to his attention that section 136(2) of the Local Government Act 2001, as inserted by section 51 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, places an obligation on the chief executive of a council to prepare a monthly management report on the performance of their executive functions during the preceding calendar month; if it has been further drawn to his attention that in the case of Sligo County Council, in compliance with departmental guidelines, the council resolved that the management report should include details of major expenditure and income lines for each service division, including performance against figures provided in the adopted annual budget and against expected income and expenditure profiles; if he will provide details relating to the performance of the council's revenue collection levels including aged debt analysis; if he will provide details relating to recourse to the council's overdraft facility, number of days per month and interest incurred; if it has been drawn to his attention that the monthly management reports issued by the chief executive officer of Sligo County Council for October 2014 and for November 2014, did not include any of the above important information; if he will consider amending local government legislation to ensure the council executive provides such information to the elected council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47626/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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My Department, pursuant to section 136(4) of Local Government Act 2001, as inserted by section 51 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, issued guidelines to local authorities in July of this year, regarding the preparation of monthly management reports. These reports are prepared by the chief executive of each local authority and furnished to the elected members on or before the seventh day of each month or on a date in each month that is set by council resolution. While the form and content of the monthly management report is not prescriptive, it has been recommended that the reports should, inter alia, include:

- Major expenditure and income lines for each service division (including performance against figures provided in the adopted annual budget and against expected income and expenditure profiles);

- Performance of local authority revenue collection levels (including aged debt analysis);

- Recourse to overdraft facility (number of days per month and interest incurred);

- Emergency capital works not provided for in the annual budget (including estimated financial liability);

- Operation/progress of the Local and Community Development Committee;

- Performance of Local Enterprise Offices based on reports to Enterprise Ireland;

- Progress in preparing reports/material requested by the Council.

While section 136 of the 2001 Act makes no provision for the elected members to specify additional elements that they would wish to see in the monthly management report, if there is a locally-seen requirement for specific reporting to be included in the report, the Chief Executive should, in consultation with the Corporate Policy Group, seek to provide this additional information.

Notwithstanding the requirement to prepare reports on a monthly basis, there should be cognisance of the need to avoid duplication of work, particularly with regard to the current methodologies of financial management reporting through the Strategic Policy Committees, to the Corporate Policy Group and on to the full Council.

The latest audited information that is available for Sligo County Council relates to the financial year 2012. The information requested regarding revenue collections is set out in the Local Government Audit Service Activity Report for 2012, published in February 2014, which is available at: .

An analysis of the aged debtors is not available in my Department.

On 25 September 2014 my Department issued a letter to Sligo County Council conveying sanction to borrow €13.5 million by way of overdraft from 1 October 2014 to 31 March 2015. The information regarding the number of days per month that the authority has recourse to its overdraft and the interest incurred is not available in my Department.