Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act, 1997
|
Local Government (Value for Money) Unit. |
14.—(1) In this section “local authority” means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941 , or such other body as may be prescribed. | |
(2) The Minister shall, as soon as may be after the commencement of this section, establish within the Department an administrative unit which shall be known as the Local Government (Value for Money) Unit and is in this section referred to as “the Unit”. | ||
(3) The Unit shall comprise such and so many officers of the Minister and local government auditors as the Minister may from time to time determine and those officers and auditors who for the time being comprise the Unit are referred to in this section as “the Unit personnel”. | ||
(4) Whenever and so often as the Minister requests the Unit personnel to do so, the Unit personnel shall carry out, or cause to be carried out, a study of systems, practices and procedures (including systems, practices and procedures employed outside the State), being a study which they consider will enable them to make recommendations under subsection (6) with respect to measures that could be taken to— | ||
(a) secure the provision by local authorities of services in a more economical, efficient and effective manner, | ||
(b) improve the manner in which local authorities are managed. | ||
(5) Each local authority shall provide to the Unit personnel or any person who is carrying out, on their behalf, a study referred to in subsection (4), such information, records or documents in its possession or which may be reasonably procured by it as the Unit personnel or the said person reasonably require for the purposes of a study referred to in subsection (4) and request the authority to provide them to the personnel or him or her. | ||
(6) The Unit personnel shall make a report to the Minister of the results of any study carried out, or caused to be carried out, by them under subsection (4) and shall, having regard to such results, make recommendations to the Minister with respect to the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (4). | ||
(7) The Minister shall publish, in such manner as he or she thinks fit, any report or recommendations made to him or her under this section. |