HC Deb 01 May 1906 vol 156 cc421-2
MR. MOONEY

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland if he will lay upon the Table of the House a Copy of the Report of the Departmental Committee which was appointed two years ago to inquire into the working of the Audit Department of the Irish Local Government Board, and of the correspondence which followed upon that Report between the Local Government Board and the Treasury; and will he say whether it was part of the bargain made on that occasion with the Treasury that, if they sanctioned an increase in the number and value of the appointments in the gift of the Board, the Board would make up some of the increased outlay by assessment on the resources of the local authorities over whom they have statutory powers in the making of these assessments.

MR. BRYCE

The Report of the Departmental Committee referred to is a confidential document, and it would be contrary to the established practice to publish such a Report or the confidential correspondence concerning the reorganisation of departments. The Answer to the latter inquiry is in the negative. The fee charged for each audit depends upon the volume of work done and the time occupied at the audit, quite irrespective of the number of auditors on the Local Governmet Board's staff.