The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) (Irish: An tArd-Reachtaire Cuntas agus Ciste) is the constitutional officer responsible for public audit in Ireland.
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General is the public audit body for the Republic of Ireland and is headed by the C&AG.
The reports are examined in detail by the Dáil Committee of Public Accounts (Irish: An Coiste um Chuntais Phoiblí).
It also examines the internal audit systems of public bodies and applies tests for value for money and effectiveness.
As a result, some bodies which receive a large amount of state funding or even are reliant on it, may not be subject to audit by the C&AG.
The C&AG makes an annual report under the heading "Accounts of the Public Services" on funding granted by the Oireachtas.
If the C&AG considers problematic issues arise in relation to a regional health board which merit a public accountability audit, it may issue what is known as a Section 6 report, authorised by Section 6 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993.
[11] The Comptroller and Auditor General audits a very wide variety (115 in 2012) of State bodies or agencies as diverse as the National Library of Ireland, the Road Safety Authority and the Abbey Theatre.
[14] An interesting example of cross-border cooperation between the two comptrollers and auditors general is seen in the Bytel cross-border broadband project where the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Ireland made a coordinated examination of the Bytel project.