Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1972 > Committee of Public Accounts > Final Report - Northern Ireland Relief Expenditure

APPENDIX 9.

GRANTS IN AID

Instructions issued by direction of Minister for Finance

An Cléireach

An Coiste um Chuntais Phoiblí

7 Feabhra 1972

Report.

During the course of my evidence* to the Committee of Public Accounts in connection with the Vote for Miscellaneous Expenses 1969/70, I said that the position as regards grants-in-aid was being reviewed. I enclose herewith copy of a circular letter which the Minister for Finance proposes to have issued to all Accounting Officers following on this review.

I also promised to let the Committee know how the percentage which the total amount voted here by way of grant-in-aid forms of total voted expenditure compares with the corresponding percentage in the United Kingdom. An analysis of grants-in-aid for 1971/72 shows that such grants represent 14% of total voted expenditure here. In the United Kingdom the corresponding percentage is 3.3%. It will be appreciated that the circumstances in both countries differ materially in that large items in our Estimates are treated as grants-in-aid e.g. grants to the Industrial Development Authority. No such similar grants are paid in Great Britain.

C. H. Murray,

Accounting Officer,

Department of Finance.

F 200/4/72

Feabhra 1972

CONFIDENTIAL CIRCULAR No. 2/72—GRANTS IN AID

A Chara,

1 The Minister for Finance has had under consideration the various expenditures of public funds by way of grant-in-aid and has directed me to issue the following instructions in place of all existing directions and understandings relating to such expenditures.

2 A grant-in-aid differs from other moneys provided by the Oireachtas in that any unexpended balance of the sums issued from it is not liable to surrender to the Exchequer. Furthermore, expenditure of sums issued from a grant-in-aid is not accounted for in detail to the Comptroller and Auditor General (unless, of course, the accounts of the grantee are subject to such examination for some other reason). In view of this special position the Oireachtas should not be asked to provide moneys in the form of a grant-in-aid unless there is good reason for not requiring the surrender of unexpended balances or it is clear that accounting in detail to the Comptroller and Auditor General would not be appropriate.

3 In preparing detailed Estimates for 1972/73, provisions hitherto treated as grants-in-aid should be reviewed to ascertain whether such treatment should continue. The results of this review should be reported in due time to this Department to enable any changes to be incorporated in the Estimates Volume 1972/73.

4 In future, the following rules will apply to grants-in-aid unless otherwise prescribed by the Minister for Finance in a particular case—

(1) Where a Vote includes a grant-in-aid, this should be indicated in the ambit of the Vote.

(2) Each grant-in-aid should be presented as a separate subhead in the Vote.

(3) A grant-in-aid should be payable to a body, corporate or incorporate, which should be named in the subhead. Where, however, issues to a number of different payees are involved a grant-in-aid may be made payable to a named account administered by the Department concerned from which the payments may be made in due course. Detail of this account should be appended in due course to the Appropriation Account of the Vote from which the grant-in-aid was paid.

(4) Where the payee is a body, corporate or incorporate, the subhead should state whether the grant-in-aid is for the general purposes of the body or for a particular purpose. In the latter event, the purpose should be stated. Where the payee is a departmental account, the purpose should always be stated.

(5) A note should be appended to the Vote saying whether or not the accounts of the grantee are subject to examination by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

(6) Before making any issue from a grant-in-aid whether directly from a Vote or indirectly through a departmental account the Accounting Officer should

(a) satisfy himself that the accounting system and organisational arrangements of the grantee are adequate to ensure the proper administration of the money;

(b) arrange to obtain in due course a copy of the audited accounts of the grantee for the year in which the issue is made;

(c) in addition, where the grant-in-aid is for a specific purpose, arrange to obtain a separate account of the expenditure; and

(d) where the grant-in-aid represents the greater part of the total income of a grantee, arrange that the books and accounts of the grantee will be made available, if required, for examination by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

(7) Issues should be made from grant-in-aid subheads by instalments over the year according as needed by the grantee unless otherwise agreed with the Minister for Finance.

(8) No excess may be incurred on a grant-in-aid subhead.

5 The Minister for Finance will not sanction the application of savings on a grant-in-aid subhead of a Vote to meet excesses on other subheads unless he is satisfied that the saving is a real one and not merely a postponement of expenditure to a subsequent year.

Mise le meas,

C. H. Murray.

To all Accounting Officers

* In connection with Appropriation Accounts 1969/70.