Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand the point the Deputy is making. When I went into this Department, I noticed some of the figures he has presented to the House. It seems that some counties do well for historical reasons. This is constantly being monitored.

The Minister, Deputy Coveney, and I are very conscious of the pressures on the county councils. Councils in the greater Dublin region, in particular, came under a great deal of pressure from housing developments in previous years and might not have the right base to match that now. We are aware of that. As I have said, we are coming forward with plans. The housing action plan will be published next week. Other plans will be announced as well. We will try to tailor programmes to help to deliver more funding into county councils that want to try to rebuild their town centres, put their town centres to better use and make their town centres more attractive to business so that jobs will be created.

The whole idea here is that if we can get more industry into counties like Carlow, Wicklow, Meath and Kildare, that will help to generate rates and thereby increase the funding available to local authorities for the provision of services. There is a great deal of pressure on county councils. During the boom years, a great deal of additional housing was developed in areas where jobs were not being created. I understand the major pressure that comes on the delivery of services as a result. We are noting that. The census figures that were published this morning will also feed into our thinking in this regard. If one compares the level of funding received in many counties to the population in those counties, one will appreciate the difference it makes when services are being provided. That is something we will be monitoring as well. I hope we can work on this in the years ahead. As the economy improves, funding is also improving, thankfully. We need to make sure it is channelled into the right places through the right Departments.

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