Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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572. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the role and purpose of the National Oversight and Audit Commission, the responsibilities it has taken over from the Local Government Management Agency, when the Local Government Indicators Report or the equivalent Performance Indicators Report will be published. [44946/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) was established under the Local Government Reform Act 2014 to provide oversight of the local government sector.

The specific functions assigned to NOAC are set out in section 126C of the Local Government Act 2001 (as inserted by section 61 of the 2014 Act) and include scrutiny of the performance of any local government body against relevant indicators that NOAC considers it appropriate to refer to. Its functions do not involve taking over any responsibilities from the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA). However, its role in relation to the scrutiny of local government performance against relevant indicators, replaces, in respect of performance in 2014 and subsequent years, the service indicators initiative in local authorities that was introduced by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in 2004.

The LGMA role in the collection of relevant data through its eReturns system, and in the compilation of tables and commentary on the data, continues in respect of the replacement performance indicators reports to be published by NOAC. Accordingly, in respect of 2014 and subsequent years, the LGMA will no longer be compiling and publishing annual service indicators reports but continues to be involved in compiling, for NOAC, data on the performance indicators determined by NOAC for inclusion in its annual performance indicators reports.

NOAC is statutorily independent of my Department so details relating to the timing of publication of the report on 2014 activity by local authorities are a matter for NOAC itself.