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The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) today (7 November 2016) published a report on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities 2015.

This is the second performance indicators report published by NOAC and outlines the activity in 2015 of local authorities in respect of performance indicators prescribed by NOAC. The 31 indicators used in the report cover a wide range of the functions carried out by local authorities in the areas of Housing (6), Economic Development (1), Roads (3), Planning (4), Water (1), Waste/ Environment (3), Fire Service (3), Library/Recreation (2), Youth/Community (2), Corporate (4) and Finance (2).

The indicators bring together a wide range of information about how all the local authorities perform in delivering services to local communities. The data on performance was collected from local authorities by the Local Government Management Agency.
NOAC’s report also sets out details of its quality assurance review of six of the indicators carried out in six local authorities and highlights key messages and conclusions emerging from the data. The report is available here: http://noac.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2015-PI-Report.pdf.

A snapshot of just some of the overall indicator data:

Housing
◦ 9,081 additional social housing units under the various schemes were provided in 2015 (a welcome and substantial increase on the equivalent 2014 figure of 3,820)
◦ overall, 3.5% of local authority houses were vacant at the end of 2015, compared to 3.8% at end 2014, and Cavan, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Kilkenny, Monaghan, South Dublin and Wexford had an end year vacancy rate of less than 1%
◦ the average house re-letting time was 29.46 weeks, also an improvement on the equivalent 2014 figure of 31.43 weeks
◦ at the end of 2015, there were 3,508 homeless adults in emergency accommodation, an increase of 32.4% on the number at end 2014
Economic Development
◦ in 2015, businesses assisted by Local Enterprise Offices created 3,152 jobs.
Water
◦ for the second year running, private drinking water supplies in Co. Westmeath achieved a 100% compliance rate with the Drinking Water Regulations
◦ overall compliance of private drinking water supplies was 97.97%, an improvement on 2014
Litter
◦ more than a quarter of the area of 5 local authorities had no litter pollution in 2015 (57% of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, 44% of Kildare and Longford and 26% of Mayo and Sligo)
◦ 24 authorities had no gross litter pollution in 2015
Fire Service
◦ the number of calls to attend fires increased by 7.8% in 2015 over the previous year
Planning
◦ Dublin City Council inspected 97% of the new buildings notified by Commencement Notice in 2015
◦ only 1 (out of 10) planning decisions by Monaghan County Council was overturned on appeal to An Bord Pleanála in 2015,compared to half of those appealed in Leitrim, Longford and Westmeath
Library Service
◦ the number of items borrowed was fewer than the number of visits to libraries in the case of 13 authorities. In Sligo 1.7 items were borrowed per library visit (the highest) and in Longford 0.57 items were borrowed per library visit (the lowest)
◦ the number of visits to libraries was 150,000 greater than in 2014 and the overall per-capita cost of operating the service was €30
Corporate
◦ local authority staff numbers decreased by 0.9% on the 2014 end year figure to 26,569 at end 2015
◦ total medically certified paid sick leave for all authorities was 3.52% of working days – the paid sick leave rate was greater than 3.5% in the case of 15 authorities
◦ almost 70% of the populations of Waterford City and County and of Cork City follow their local authority on social media sites
Finance
◦ all 16 local authorities running a Revenue Account balance in deficit at end 2014 reduced their deficit in 2015; credit balances were also reduced – most notably by €28.1m in Dublin City
◦ 2015 rates collection performance was 80% or more for 16 authorities with Fingal, Kilkenny and Roscommon exceeding 90%
◦ improvements in housing loan payment and rent and annuities collection levels were also shown by the majority of local authorities in 2015

The detailed results for each indicator are provided in Tables 1 to 28 on pages 23 to 75. The Local Government Management Agency commentary is at pages 76-97.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

The National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) was established under the Local Government Reform Act 2014 to provide independent scrutiny of local government performance in fulfilling national, regional and local mandates, including performance in respect of its financial resources. Its mission is to independently oversee the local government sector by reviewing the financial and operational performance of bodies within its remit, overseeing implementation of national local government policy and identifying opportunities for best practice.

Since its establishment, NOAC has examined a range of areas of local authority activity, resulting in the publication of 11 reports to date, including most recently A Review of Rented Houses Inspections (NOAC Report No. 10). For further information on NOAC, including all reports published to date, see www.noac.ie.

Queries to NOAC via DHPCLG Press Office: Tel: (01) 888 2638 (direct), (01) 888 2000; E-Mail: Press@housing.gov.ie Web site: www.noac.ie