John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the area of local government the funding announced in the budget on Tuesday amounts to €156 million paid directly by the local government section into the local authority structure throughout the country, in which there are 31 local authorities. The local government fund supports a range of local government initiatives and services across the country, with which Members of this House will be familiar. I am delighted with the increase in support of €12.5 million for capital investment in fire and emergency services. This money will be used to provide vital new fire service vehicles and refurbish existing fire stations. I also welcome the increased capital funding of €2.4 million for the Valuation Office which will go towards its 2020 IT systems upgrade project. The Government has made €17 million available to Ordnance Survey Ireland for 2020, an increase of €2 million on the figure for last year. It will allow the office to develop geo-spatial activities in support of Government policy and strategy, thus allowing it to take on additional public sector tasks in 2021 and 2022. Thanks to these important supports, I am confident that the local government sector and the Tailte Éireann group of agencies will be strongly resourced into 2020.

Taking account of the variation decisions made by local authorities recently, the 2020 LPT allocations amount to €516.8 million, compared to €503 million in 2019. A total of 19 local authorities varied their LPT rates upwards for 2020, providing €19.7 million in additional LPT income for their own use. This compares to a gain of €3.4 million in 2019 for the same authorities. This trend illustrates that the majority of local authorities are now prepared to use the LPT variation mechanism to generate additional funding locally for critical and strategic programmes and services.

In 2018 the commercial rates collected by each local authority across the country amounted to just short of €1.4 billion, a very significant sum which is the largest funding stream for local authorities across the country. Income raised in 2018 by local authorities through development levies amounted to €222 million. I have already given the figure for LPT income.

In terms of other provisions made by the local government section for local authorities across the country, €9 million has been allocated under what are termed miscellaneous schemes, including funding for European Committee of the Regions membership, which comprises eight full members and eight substitute members. These are county councillors from all across the country who sit on that EU-wide body. Funding is also provided for the National Oversight and Audit Committee which was established in 2014 to ensure the efficient application of resources by each local authority across the country. There is also an allocation for local partnership initiatives and local government development initiatives. In recent years we have also made allocations related to the participation of women in public office at local government level and those funds are derived from the miscellaneous schemes.

On the matter of the broader budget, we live in extremely interesting times. We are still awaiting clarity on the outcome of the Brexit process, but the position in which the Government found itself in drafting a budget was such that prudence was deemed to be the most appropriate course in the allocation of resources. However, I particularly welcome the increased funding for home help hours, an issue every Member of this House has come across in the course of his or her constituency work. Home help support is crucial in ensuring older people can remain in their homes and communities for longer. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, on the extra allocation in that regard.

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