Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

They have until the end of the year to spend it. We have written to the local authorities to put pressure on them and they have until the end of December to spend that funding. They are all telling us that it will be done by the end of year. Last year, they told me that if they had received the money earlier, they would have it spent, so I gave it in February and gave another allocation in November because I had some savings. At the moment, we expect the €10 million to be spent. I can guarantee the Senator that I will notify this committee if the money is not spent by any local authority. There is no point in me going to Government, fighting for a budget when we have a massive demand for LIS, and the councils get money they are not spending.

One of the problems is that I cannot change the rules and regulations because the LIS is a statutory scheme. There are sometimes different reasons they do not complete the spending of the funding.

The Senator referred to council staff and she may be right about the outdoor staff. I looked at figures in the past week regarding the number of staff that every local authority employs throughout the country. We need more staff and we need more people on the ground. The local authorities have been told that for the past number of years but it seems they feel they need more engineers than outdoor staff. I do not agree. If one thing came up at the local elections, it was in regard to not having enough outdoor staff. It is about not having the services when people are paying their property tax and businesses are paying their rates. The councils have a legal obligation in regard to some services. While they do not deal with water or refuse anymore, they have to provide other services. The one issue that came up on housing estates was that more outdoor staff were needed.

For example, there are areas to be cleaned. Where I live, there are ten houses and every year we put €1,500 or €1,600 aside to do our own grass cutting and so on, and we pay for that ourselves, despite the fact we pay our property tax and other taxes. While it is not for me to lecture the councils, they need to focus on their core job.