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

The baseline figures being used date back to 2005 rather than 2001. It is based on the 2005 assessment of the various services and income and expenditure as well. The Deputy is right that since then they have only been tweaked on a plus or minus basis every year thereafter. As the Deputy knows, the original needs resource model was cumbersome to manage and it did not always prove economical to gather all of the relevant data. The issue of the funding requirements of local authorities is an ongoing one for the Department. The Deputy will be familiar with the requirements of the local authority in her area, as I am familiar with the needs of the local authority in my county. There is increased pressure on services when there is an increase in population. Local authorities currently do a lot more than they did previously. The local property tax is only part of the funding provided to local authorities. They also get other funding.

In regard to Mayo versus Wicklow, this is not only about population size. Counties vary greatly in geographical size as well, which must also be taken into account in the context of the running of a county. I apologise but I cannot recall the Deputy's third question.

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