Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Respectfully, what the Deputy is saying on this is incorrect. The commitment I am giving to retention in some local authority areas, and dealing with the consequences of this to ensure other local authorities are not disadvantaged because of this, is not in this Bill. The issue of retention is not a legislative matter for the Bill. The Bill simply deals with the issues I have touched on, which is how funding is raised and how the tax is structured. To answer the question on how redistribution will occur, it will do so, for want of a better phrase, under the current model for the approaching year. We will then use this current year and I will be guided by the advice of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to engage on the issue of what the baseline of funding will be in future and how we will deal with the commitment I have made that nobody will be worse off.

I will be primarily guided by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, with regard to that. I will then deal with the funding consequences of delivering on that commitment.