Local Authority: Wicklow County Council
Issue: Unpaid grant money
Every year, local authorities are subject to an audit from the Local Government Auditor, whose job is to take an in-depth look at councils' finances and controls and make recommendations to improve their performances.
In effect, the Local Government Auditor performs a similar task to the Comptroller and Auditor General, which scrutinises how other publicly funded bodies spend their money.
However, the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee cannot question local authorities, unlike organisations subject to audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Furthermore, the Local Government Auditor is not always provided with explanations when it raises questions with local authorities, during its work.
A letter sent by the Local Government Auditor in January 2021 to Wicklow County Council, released to RTÉ Investigates under freedom of information, is a case in point.
The letter – known as a Management Letter, and which related to the 2019 audit of the council – stated: "Over the last three audits, the Council has not explained why there is an outstanding €80k in the bank reconciliation concerning a transaction invoiced with an approved housing body." ("Bank reconciliation" is an accounting process that compares council and bank records.)
An earlier letter, dated October 2019 and relating to the 2018 audit, also referred to this issue. In this letter, the Local Government Auditor stated that the council did not pay a grant of €80,000 received from the Department of Housing under the Capital Assistance Scheme to an Approved Housing Body (AHB) to purchase an apartment in Bray.
The scheme allows approved housing bodies to apply to local authorities for funding for housing projects, with the local authorities then recovering that funding from the department.
The letter also stated, "There is an €80k outstanding cheque in the bank reconciliation since 2012," which was not paid to the approved housing body. It also said that there was an implication that the "Council has retained monies owed to [the] AHB."
"There needs to be a review of the transactions involved in both the purchase of this house and the ownership of this house," the auditor recommended.
In reply, the council said that its Housing Directorate would review "this historical matter", and its "target for implementation" was 2020.
In the subsequent letter sent in 2021, where again the Local Government Auditor said there should be a review of this issue, the council replied that the matter "is currently being addressed by the Housing Directorate." This target for implementation was moved to 2021.
In response to a freedom of information request, in which we sought records related to the review, the council told us, "The Law Department holds a file relating to the Capital Assistance Scheme; however, they have advised that the records should be refused under legal professional privilege."
RTÉ Investigates sent Wicklow County Council several queries concerning this issue.
We asked the council to respond to the suggestion that it had not cooperated with the Local Government Auditor by refusing to explain why it had retained the €80,000 intended for the approved housing body.
We also asked the council why it had not given this money to the approved housing body.
The council declined to answer these questions, however. Instead, it repeated that the matter is "historical" and said it was "currently being addressed." It also noted that it was committed to "bringing the issue to conclusion in 2022."
Meanwhile, we also asked the Department of Housing if it was aware that the approved housing body had not been provided with the grant funding and if it had reviewed the matter.
It replied: "This Department was not aware of the 2018 Local Government Auditor's Management Letter to Wicklow County Council referring to a grant it obtained from under the Capital Assistance Scheme in 2012. Given this, the Department has not conducted a review to date on the matter."
