John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

In 2009, some €1.6 billion will be available for allocation via the local government fund. General purpose grants are the contribution my Department makes to local authorities to meet the gap between the cost to them of providing a reasonable level of day-to-day services and the income they obtain from other sources. A total of €935.2 million in general purpose grants will be provided to local authorities from the local government fund.

The fund also provides significant funding to local authorities for the improvement and maintenance of local and regional roads. An amount of €564.5 million has been allocated to the Department of Transport from the fund for 2009 for this purpose. An additional amount in the region of €80 million will be allocated for particular purposes including the operation of water services, group water schemes and the vehicle registration unit.

General purpose grants are important in assisting local authorities to balance their budgets. However, they comprise only about one fifth of the funding required by authorities to provide their day-to-day services, although the proportion varies between authorities. Local authorities receive income from a range of sources including rates, charges for goods and services, specific State grants and general purpose grants from the local government fund. It is a matter for each local authority to prioritise its spending within the resources available to it, across the range of services it provides. Equally, local authorities must ensure full value for money for the resources invested and seek the maximum efficiency across their operations. I am satisfied that the general purpose allocations provided for 2009, together with the income available from other sources, will enable local authorities to provide an acceptable level of service to their customers.

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