Comptroller and Auditor-General Act, 1923

What is this act about?

This law establishes the office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General, outlining their appointment, salary, pension, and duties related to controlling disbursements and auditing accounts for Saorstát Eireann.

Who it applies to: Dáil Eireann, which appoints the Comptroller and Auditor-General; The Comptroller and Auditor-General and the staff within their Department.

At a glance

Country: Ireland
Area of law: Social security
Articles: 8
Source: irishstatutebook.ie
Text retrieved: 2026-06-17
Explanation updated: 2026-07-07

What does this act regulate?

The appointment process for the Comptroller and Auditor-General by Dáil Eireann.
The salary and pension provisions for the Comptroller and Auditor-General.
The conditions for the tenure of office, including retirement age and removal procedures.
The duties of the Comptroller and Auditor-General regarding financial control, auditing, and reporting to Dáil Eireann.

Who does this act apply to?

Dáil Eireann, which appoints the Comptroller and Auditor-General.
The Comptroller and Auditor-General and the staff within their Department.

What are the key points?

The Comptroller and Auditor-General is appointed by Dáil Eireann by a majority vote of members present and voting.
The annual salary for the Comptroller and Auditor-General is One Thousand Five Hundred Pounds, charged to the Central Fund.
A pension is payable upon ceasing office, equal to one-half of the salary after not less than fifteen years of service, or two-thirds after not less than twenty years, provided the person is at least sixty years old or permanently infirm.
The Comptroller and Auditor-General must retire at seventy years of age and can only be removed for stated misbehaviour or incapacity by identical resolutions passed by Dáil Eireann and Seanad Eireann.
The Comptroller and Auditor-General cannot hold any other office or position of emolument or be a member of either House of the Oireachtas while in office.

Social security

Old Age Pension Act, 1924

Superannuation and Pensions Act, 1923

Social Welfare Act, 1974

Sea Fisheries Act, 1931

British-Irish Agreement (Amendment) Act, 2002

Vocational Education (Amendment) Act, 1947

Connaught Rangers (Pensions) Act, 1936

Courts of Justice and Court Officers (Superannuation) Act, 1961

Social security

Legal text

Contents (8)

Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8

Comptroller and Auditor-General Act, 1923 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 1923 Comptroller and Auditor-General Act, 1923 Comptroller and Auditor-General Act, 1923 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 1.

COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR-GENERAL ACT, 1923.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section

Section 1

Appointment of Comptroller and Auditor-General.

Section 2

Salary and Pension of Comptroller and Auditor-General.

Section 3

Tenure of Office of Comptroller and Auditor-General.

Section 4

Staff of Department.

Section 5

Principal Officer may act for Comptroller and Auditor-General in certain cases.

Section 6

The Comptroller and Auditor-General to regulate the business of his Department.

Section 7

Duties of Comptroller and Auditor-General.

Section 8

Short Title.

Act Referred to Adaptation of Enactments Act, 1922 (Number 2 of 1922) Number 1.

COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR-GENERAL ACT, 1923.

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR-GENERAL, AND FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH. [12th January, 1923.] WHEREAS it is provided by Article 62 of the Constitution of Saorstát Eireann that Dáil Eireann shall appoint a Comptroller and Auditor-General to act on behalf of Saorstát Eireann and that such Comptroller and Auditor-General shall control all disbursements and shall audit all accounts of moneys administered by or under the authority of the Oireachtas and shall report to Dáil Eireann at stated periods to be determined by law:

AND WHEREAS it is provided by Article 63 of the Constitution aforesaid that the Comptroller and Auditor-General shall not be removed except for stated misbehaviour or incapacity on resolutions passed by Dáil Eireann and Seanad Eireann and that subject to that provision the terms and conditions of the tenure of office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General shall be fixed by law and that he shall not be a member of the Oireachtas and shall not hold any other office or position of emolument:

BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:— Appointment of Comptroller and Auditor-General.

1.—From and after the passing of this Act, it shall be lawful for Dáil Eireann from time to time by resolution carried by a majority of the members present and voting, to appoint a Comptroller-General of the Receipt and Issue of the Exchequer of Saorstát Eireann and Auditor-General of Public Accounts who shall be styled and known as the Comptroller and Auditor-General (Árd-Scrúdóir) and who shall act on behalf of Saorstát Eireann.

Salary and Pension of Comptroller and Auditor-General.

2.—(1) There shall be paid to the Comptroller and Auditor-General a salary of One Thousand Five Hundred Pounds per annum, and such salary shall be charged upon and paid out of the Central Fund of Saorstát Eireann or the growing produce thereof.

(2)Subject to the provisions of this section there shall be paid to any person who shall have executed the office of Comptroller and Auditor-General on his ceasing to hold such office a pension equal to one-half of the salary of his office to which he shall have been entitled immediately before he ceased to hold such office, if he shall have held the said office for a period of not less than fifteen years and equal to two-thirds of his said salary, if he shall have held the said office for a period of not less than twenty years.

(3)No such pension as is mentioned in the preceding sub-section shall be paid to the Comptroller and Auditor-General, unless he be sixty years of age at the least, or be afflicted with some permanent infirmity disabling him from the due execution of his office, such infirmity to be certified by such persons and in such manner as the Minister for Finance shall require.

(4)Nothing in this section shall prevent the Comptroller and Auditor-General from receiving, if he shall so elect, in lieu of the pension which would be payable to him under this section, the amount of superannuation allowance to which he would have been entitled by law apart from this Act, in respect of the full period during which he shall have served in the permanent Civil Service of the State, for which purpose service as Comptroller and Auditor-General shall be deemed to be service in the permanent Civil Service of the State.

Tenure of Office of Comptroller and Auditor-General.

3.—(1) The Comptroller and Auditor-General shall retire from office upon his attaining the age of seventy years, and shall not be removed from his office before he shall have attained that age except by the Oireachtas upon identical resolutions passed by Dáil Eireann and Seanad Eireann respectively, and then only for misbehaviour or incapacity to be expressly stated in such resolutions.

(2)The Comptroller and Auditor-General shall not, while holding his office, be capable of holding any other office or position of emolument, or of being elected to or of being a member of either House of the Oireachtas.

Staff of Department.

4.—The Minister for Finance shall from time to time appoint the officers, clerks, and other persons in the Department of the Comptroller and Auditor-General and regulate the numbers, salaries and conditions of employment of the respective grades or classes into which such officers, clerks, and other persons shall be divided.

Principal Officer may act for Comptroller and Auditor-General in certain cases.

5.—Anything which is by the law for the time being in force directed to be done by the Comptroller and Auditor-General, other than the certifying and reporting on accounts for Dáil Eireann, may be done by a principal officer of the Department authorised for that purpose by the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

The Comptroller and Auditor-General to regulate the business of his Department.

6.—The Comptroller and Auditor-General shall have full power to make from time to time orders and rules for the conduct of the internal business of his Department and to promote, suspend, or remove any of the officers, clerks, and other persons employed therein, and also, subject to the approval of the Minister for Finance, to make regulations and prescribe forms for the guidance of departments and persons in making up and rendering their accounts to him for examination.

Duties of Comptroller and Auditor-General.

7.—(1) It shall be the duty of the Comptroller and Auditor-General to control all disbursements and to audit all accounts of moneys administered by or under the authority of the Oireachtas at such times and in such manner as shall from time to time be prescribed by law.

(2)It shall also be the duty of the Comptroller and Auditor-General to report to Dáil Eireann on such matters and at such periods and times as shall from time to time be prescribed by law or required by resolution of Dáil Eireann.

(3)Unless and until it shall be otherwise provided by the Oireachtas, the Comptroller and Auditor-General shall have and exercise all such powers and perform all such duties as are prescribed by this Act or are conferred or imposed on him by any Act of the Parliament of the late United Kingdom having the force of law in Saorstát Eireann and adapted to the circumstances of Saorstát Eireann by or under the Adaptation of Enactments Act, 1922 (Number 2 of 1922), and particularly by the Exchequer and Audit Departments Acts, 1866 and 1921 (29 and 30 Vict., c. 39, and 11 and 12 Geo. V., c. 52).

Short Title.

8.—This Act may be cited as the Comptroller and Auditor-General Act, 1923.

Privacy Statement Accessibility European Legislation Identifier (PDF) Open Data License Ráiteas Príobháideachais Inrochtaineacht Aitheantóir Eorpach Reachtaíochta (ELI) Ceadúnas Sonraí Oscailte Liosta Fianán © Government of Ireland. Oireachtas Copyright Material is reproduced with the permission of the Houses of the Oireachtas © Rialtas na hÉireann. Atáirgtear ábhar faoi Chóipcheart le cead ó Thithe an Oireachtais

AI explanation based on the official legal text. Indicative, not a substitute for legal advice.