Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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239. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that most local authorities do not publish or make the monthly chief executive report publicly available online; his views on whether it would facilitate the monitoring of service performance in each local authority if they did so; and if he will issue guidance to each executive to publish these reports in order to enhance transparency. [6914/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Section 136 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014, provides for the preparation of a monthly management report by the Chief Executive of a local authority in relation to the performance of his or her executive functions during the preceding calendar month, and its circulation to elected members of that local authority.

My Department, pursuant to section 136(4) of the Local Government Act 2001, as inserted by section 51 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, issued guidelines in this regard to local authorities in July 2014, which are available at: www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/lg_18_-_2014_guidelines_on_preparation_of_monthly_management_reports.pdf.

While publication of the monthly management report is a matter for individual local authorities, I am mindful of the importance of transparency and I will have the issue of the publication of such reports considered in consultation with the local government sector.