MR. PATRICK O'BRIENI beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he can see his way to have the present arrangements altered so that in future the accounts of the Irish public departments may be audited permanently in Dublin.
§ MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAINIn the case of certain accounts where access is required to books and documents which cannot conveniently be transmitted to the Audit Office a local test is already made. So far as is known, no inconvenience arises from the transmission of accounts from Ireland and their audit in London. If the examination of the Irish accounts were conducted locally by officers under the direction of the Comptroller and Auditor General, great practical inconvenience would result from the necessity of referring questions to London before bringing them to the notice of the Dublin accounting officers, while the opportunity at present available to the Comptroller and Auditor General of personal conference with his officers would be wanting.