Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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How will local authorities be financed from now on? Today, my own county council met to discuss the prospect of closing down two of its public swimming pools as it cannot afford to keep them going. The income of the local authority sector has been decimated. It will take a huge commitment to bring them and their rates base back when things start to improve. The plan to support local authorities is very important but it must not be a stopgap measure as they will need support for a number of years to recover if we are still to provide the services from local authorities that we expect and take for granted. What is the financial commitment in the budget? What are the Minister's thoughts on the matter?