Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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645. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware that Sligo County Council submitted a new five year financial plan to his Department on 29 April 2015; that the financial plan indicates that the council has borrowings of in excess of €23 million, which the council is only capable of paying the interest on; that the council has had a deficit in its revenue account each and every year from 2008 to date; that the council’s cumulative deficit now stands at over €26 million, with long-term debt in excess of €100 million; that the financial plan provides for the repayment of principal and interest on council loans from 2018 onwards; that the chief executive of the council has stated that progress on the implementation of the financial plan will be reported to the council in the context of the monthly management reports; in this context, if he will include a binding condition in respect of any bailout funding that such progress reports on the implementation of the financial plan will be submitted to each monthly meeting of the council; if his Department has considered the contents of the financial plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26371/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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It is a matter for each local authority, including Sligo County Council, to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources. The elected members of a local authority have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of the authority, which include adopting the annual budget and authorising borrowing, and are democratically accountable for all expenditure by the local authority.

The continued deterioration of Sligo County Council’s financial position is of serious concern to me. While it is a matter for individual local authorities to manage their own day-to-day finances in a prudent and sustainable manner, my Department is in regular consultation with the Council in relation to its financial position, including in relation to the agreement of a long term financial plan to address these issues. My Department received a financial plan on 29 April and responded on 12 June; engagement is on-going in relation to the contents of the plan.

While the relevant legislative provision for monthly management reports (section 136 of the Local Government Act 2001 as substituted by section 51 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014) makes no provision for the elected members to specify additional elements that they would wish to see in the monthly management report, section 136 does provide that a chief executive shall, when requested, afford to the council all information that may be in the possession or procurement of the chief executive in regard to any act, matter or thing relating to or concerning any business or transaction of the local authority.

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.