Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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There have been changes over the years. We go back to the needs and resources model for distribution and that is largely still in place with regard to the issue I have raised about baselines which are set by local authorities that do not factor in population growth at all. There was a ring-fenced fund for motor tax receipts. That has been phased out. There is not really a local government fund any longer but a redistribution of the 20% that comprises the equalisation fund for the local property tax. The more complicated something is made, the more public frustration there is with it. One cannot then make sense of it and loses things in the middle of it that we should be picking up. The Department with primary responsibility for local authorities should provide a quick synopsis of what has gone where-----