Expenditure 2006

Total Expenditure in Clare County Council in 2006 amounted to €255 million of which €162 million related to the 43 analysed Account Elements. The following table provides a percentage breakdown of total expenditure across the nine programme groups.

% breakdown of total expenditure for each programme group

Programme Group	%
1 Housing	13%
2 Roads	38%
3 Sanitary	17%
4 Planning & Development	9%
5 Environment	6%
6 Recreation & Amenity	3%
7 Agriculture & Education	3%
8 Miscellaneous Services	3%
9 Support Services	8%

The top 10 expenditure items across the 43 analysed Account Elements are also presented below. These account for 95% of the total expenditure

Top Ten Expenditure Items

Account Element	Description	€	%
69300	Capital Contracts Expenditure	97,588,181.41	60.4
70000	Materials	23,997,202.07	14.8
65000	Land Purchase/Compensation	11,508,053.48	7.1
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses	6,226,594.69	3.9
65500	Minor Contracts- Trade Services & other works	4,374,925.87	2.7
86000	Energy	2,997,531.73	1.9
90120	Non- Housing Loan Repayments	2,405,101.92	1.5
79000	Legal Fees and Expenses	1,377,076.57	0.9
85000	Rent	1,296,601.63	0.8
69260	Repairs & Maintenance - Other Equipment	1,211,917.66	0.7

In addition to the Top 10 expenditure items on the list, those ranking at 12 (Printing & Office Consumables), 36 (Postage), and 42 (Miscellaneous Expenses) should be noted. Further detail on these items is outlined below.

The application of the analytical framework (as described above) to this spend analysis is presented on the following table. Expenditure of less than €1m is classed as low value. Capital expenditure items are classed as high risk due to the potential of contract failure, poor performance of contractors, poor contract management etc. Day to day operational expenditure is classed as low risk. The top four account elements are broken down by Programme Group and the remaining account elements are presented as total figures.

• Expenditure classed as high risk, high value totals €114,312,994 (73%)
• Expenditure classed as low risk, high value totals €33,611,378 (21%)
• Expenditure classed as low risk, low value totals €7,447,671 (5%)
• Expenditure classed as high risk, low value totals €1,195,379 (0.8%)

Spend Profile – Clare County Council

	Account Element & Description	€	%
69300	Capital Contracts Expenditure Roads	51,653,379.00	33.0
69300	Capital Contracts Expenditure Housing	20,716,241.00	13.2
70000	Materials Roads	19,482,472.00	12.4
69300	Capital Contracts Expenditure Development	14,790,758.00	9.4
69300	Capital Contracts Expenditure Water	8,391,361.00	5.4
65000	Land Purchase/Compensation Roads	6,926,107.00	4.4
65000	Land Purchase/Compensation Water	4,526,947.00	2.9
65500	Minor Contracts- Trade Services & other works	4,374,925.87	2.8
86000	Energy	2,997,531.73	1.9
90120	Non- Housing Loan Repayments	2,405,101.92	1.5
70000	Materials Water	2,285,025.00	1.5
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses Development	2,122,211.00	1.4
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses Water	1,552,660.00	1.0
79000	Legal Fees and Expenses	1,377,076.57	0.9
85000	Rent	1,296,601.63	0.8
69300	Capital Contracts Expenditure Environment	1,225,800.00	0.8
69260	Repairs & Maint - Other Equip	1,211,917.66	0.8
70000	Materials Environment	1,178,258.00	0.8
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses Roads	1,152,363.00	0.7
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses Housing	955,464.00	0.6
68500	Non-Capital Equip Purchase - Other	780,426.49	0.5
69300	Capital Contracts Expenditure Misc. Services	767,176.00	0.5
81000	Printing & Office Consumables	758,971.43	0.5
76000	Communication Expenses	665,012.44	0.4
78000	Training	458,072.48	0.3
70000	Materials Development	443,315.00	0.3
80000	Advertising	433,287.34	0.3
69250	Repairs & Maint -Computer Equip	422,729.41	0.3
71550	Library Book Purchases	371,125.46	0.2
77200	Security - Property	292,499.69	0.2
67500	Non-Capital Equip Purchase - Computers	268,781.15	0.2
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses Environment	255,486.00	0.2
75000	Computer Software and Maintenance Fees	248,950.02	0.2
85200	Cleaning	238,046.69	0.2
66500	Non-Capital Equip Purchase - Fire Services	232,755.65	0.1
70000	Materials Misc. Services	231,410.00	0.1
70000	Materials Recreation	221,912.00	0.1
71500	Arts Activities	160,357.23	0.1
68000	Non-Capital Equip Purchase - Office Equip/Furn	149,133.78	0.1
69270	Repairs &Maint - Parks & Other Areas	119,563.14	0.1
69200	Repairs & Maint - Plant	115,455.25	0.1
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses Misc. Services	110,465.00	0.1
90200	Overdraft interest & financial charges	102,948.69	0.1
78100	Recruitment Expenses	102,258.93	0.1
69600	Other Vehicle Expenses	99,604.02	0.1
74500	Entertainment Expenses	94,798.34	0.1
70000	Materials Housing	87,810.00	0.1
69370	Agency Health Boards	83,856.00	0.1
70000	Materials Support Services	66,843.00	0.0
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses Recreation	62,252.00	0.0
65000	Land Purchase/Compensation Housing	55,000.00	0.0
69300	Capital Contracts Expenditure Recreation	36,950.00	0.0
77250	Security - Cash Delivery	29,623.87	0.0
85300	Canteen	25,549.01	0.0
81050	Scanning	12,724.01	0.0
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses Support Services	12,257.00	0.0
69300	Capital Contracts Expenditure Support Services	6,516.00	0.0
90000	Lease Interest	5,189.18	0.0
76100	Postage	3,563.63	0.0
79900	Consultancy/Professional Fees and Expenses Agriculture	3,436.00	0.0
67000	Non-Capital Equip Purchase - Machinery Yard	3,400.00	0.0
69150	Repairs & Maint - Buildings (excl. LA Housing)	2,233.73	0.0
66000	Non-Capital Equip Purchase - Civil Defence	714.64	0.0
70000	Materials Agriculture	157.00	0.0
70600	Stock Adjustments	382.99	0.0
77100	Courier	50.82	0.0
99000	Miscellaneous Expenses	- 1,332,495.58	-0.9
69000	Hire (Ext) - Plant/Transport/Machinery & Equipment	- 1,365,332.55	-0.9
	Total	156,567,424.40

Appendix C provides a breakdown of expenditure across the nine programme groups for each of the Top Ten Account Elements. The following should be noted in relation to each.

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1. Capital Contracts Expenditure

• National and EU Procurement rules apply
• 98 suppliers
• Programme Group 2 accounts for 53% of the expenditure
• 1 supplier accounted for 54% of the expenditure (GAMA)
• 9 suppliers received over €1m each
• 26 suppliers received between €100,000 and €1m each
• 19 suppliers received between €20,000 and €100,000 each
• Tight controls in respect of procurement management required for this category
• Professional Contract Management is a necessity
• Contracts should not commence until contract has been signed
• There should be transparent and open competition in respect of procurement of works
• Coding should be reviewed
• Procurement reforms (circular 33/06) should have a significant impact on this category if projects are managed correctly, particularly with regard to the requirement to quote a fixed price lump sum. The Contracting Authority should clearly set out its requirements at tender stage. The new forms of contracts should also be used.

2. Materials

• National and EU Procurement rules apply
• EU threshold for supplies is currently €211,000
• 652 suppliers
• Programme Group 2 accounts for 81% of the expenditure
• 6 suppliers received between €1m and €3.5m (60% of total)
• 17 suppliers received between €100,000 and €1m
• 60 suppliers received between €20,000 and €100,000
• Coding needs to be reviewed e.g. €37,359 was charged to Programme Group 2 for Postage by Phone Pitney Bows (Ire.) Ltd
• Use of LA Quotes should be monitored regularly
• Introduce low value purchase card

3. Land Purchase / Compensation

• Review payments - e.g. payment made to County Solicitor for the sum of €4.5m for the Ennis/Clarecastle Scheme should have been made payable to the vendor
• Price negotiation and realistic valuations critical
• Land Purchase accounts for 7.1% of total
• Programme Group 3 accounts for 39% of the expenditure

4. Consultancy / Professional Fees and Expenses

• National & EU Procurement rules apply
• EU threshold for services is currently €211,000
• 179 suppliers
• Programme Group 4 accounts for 34% of expenditure
• 19 suppliers received between €100,000 and €800,000
• 27 suppliers received between €20,000 and €100,000
• Procurement reforms (circular 33/06) should have a significant impact on this category if projects are managed correctly, particularly with regard to the requirement to quote a fixed price lump sum. The Contracting Authority should clearly set out its requirements at tender stage. The new forms of contracts should also be used.
• Use of panels / Framework agreements should be considered
• Coding should be reviewed

5. Minor Contracts - Trade Services & Other Works

• National & EU Procurement rules apply
• 112 suppliers
• Programme Group 1 accounts for 48% of expenditure
• 12 suppliers received between €100,000 and €500,000
• 22 suppliers received between €20,000 and €100,000
• 1 supplier received €470,000 in Programme Group 1
• Sixty two suppliers with an individual spend of less than €10,000 account for €195,000 in Minor Contract Expenditure in total. This suggests that there are opportunities to consolidate the supplier base, the objective being to achieve value for money and greater economies of scale
• Procurement reforms (circular 33/06) should have a significant impact on this category if projects are managed correctly, particularly with regard to the requirement to quote a fixed price lump sum. The Contracting Authority should clearly set out its requirements at tender stage. The new forms of contracts should also be used.

6. Energy

• 77 suppliers
• ESB receives 82% of the total expenditure in this category
• Programme Group 3 accounts for 45% of the expenditure
• 61 suppliers with an individual spend of less than €10,000 account for €141,000 in Energy expenditure. This suggests that there are opportunities to consolidate the supplier base, the objective being to achieve value for money and greater economies of scale. Oil suppliers in particular.

7. Non-Housing Loan Repayments

• 6 suppliers
• €2.4 million

8. Legal Fees and Expenses

• 47 suppliers in this category
• 1 supplier received 66% of the total expenditure
• Programme Group 1 accounts for 26%, Programme 2 accounts for 23% and Programme 3 accounts for 21%
• Recent contract award adheres to Procurement rules

9. Rent

• 27 suppliers
• Review of coding required
• 1 supplier accounts for 50% of total expenditure in this category
• 80% of the expenditures applies to Programme Group 9

10. Repairs & Maintenance - Other Equipment

• National & EU Procurement rules apply
• 167 suppliers
• 4 suppliers account for 54% of expenditure between €100,000 and €350,000
• Programme Group 3 accounts for 40% of expenditure
• 150 suppliers with an individual spend of less than €10,000 account for €225,000 in Repairs and Maintenance expenditure. This suggests that there are opportunities to consolidate the supplier base, the objective being to achieve value for money and greater economies of scale.

Other Account Elements