116.—(1) There is established on the commencement of this section a service to be known as the Local Government Audit Service and the Minister may appoint to such service such and so many suitably qualified persons, to be known as local government auditors, to carry out or assist in the carrying out of audits of the accounts of local authorities and other bodies.

(2) Local government auditors shall be independent in the exercise of their professional functions.

(3) The Minister may appoint a person (in this Act referred to as the “Director of Audit”) to the Local Government Audit Service to carry out the functions set out in subsection (4).

(4) The functions of the Director of Audit are—

(a) to organise, direct and allocate resources within the Local Government Audit Service,

(b) to assign audits of particular local authorities or other bodies to particular local government auditors,

(c) to provide such advice and assistance as the Minister may from time to time require for the purposes of section 117(1),

(d) to arrange for auditors to certify claims or returns in accordance with section 126,

(e) to direct the Local Government (Value for Money) Unit established by section 14 of the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act, 1997, and to ensure that the work of the unit is incorporated into local government audit practice,

(f) to report from time to time to the Minister on matters set out in paragraphs (a) to (e) and generally on the performance of the Local Government Audit Service,

(g) to bring proceedings under section 119(4), and

(h) to carry out such other functions as the Minister may from time to time direct.

(5) By virtue of this subsection the Local Government (Value for Money) Unit referred to in subsection (4)(e) forms part of the Local Government Audit Service.

(6) (a) A person who is a local government auditor immediately prior to the commencement of this section shall by virtue of this subsection on such commencement stand assigned to the Local Government Audit Service.

(b) Nothing in this subsection shall be read as prejudicing the position of a person referred to in paragraph (a) as a civil servant for the purposes of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956.