Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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251. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when the next national survey of performance service indicators from all local authorities will be published; his views on whether it is good practice that no national audit of local authority service indicators has been published since 2013 or since the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, was set up to take over the service indicators initiative in local authorities from the LGMA, introduced by one of his predecessors in 2004; the way in which, in the absence of such national comparators on the service performance of all local authorities, his Department can make reliable decisions pertaining to aspects of local authority services; and if he will establish a national audit of local authority service indicators on a statutory basis. [23537/16]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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252. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the budget and number of staff of the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC). [23538/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 251 and 252 together.

The Local Government Reform Act 2014 gave legislative effect to proposals set out in Putting People First: An (2012)for a range of reforms designed to strengthen local government, including its structures, functions, funding, operational arrangements and governance.

The reforms included the establishment of a National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC). Accordingly, NOAC was established by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government under Part 12A of the Local Government Act 2001 (as amended) on 1 July 2014 to oversee the local government sector at a local, regional and national level. To date, NOAC has published 8 reports which are available on its website at .

The functions assigned to the Commission by Part 12A include to scrutinise the performance of any local government body against relevant indicators as selected by NOAC or as prescribed in regulations made by the Minister.

The NOAC report on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities 2014was published by it in December 2015; the position in relation to preparation of the NOAC report in respect of 2015 is a matter for the Commission itself. As regards earlier years, the reports on Service Indicators in Local Authorities 2005 -13(inclusive) are available on the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) website, .

The NOAC budget for 2016 is €200,000 and the Commission is supported by a secretariat comprising two full-time staff members whose services are made available by my Department. In its work, NOAC is also able to draw on assistance from related organisations such as the Local Government Audit Service, the LGMA and the Housing Agency.