Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

That is the point. That is not going to happen. In fact, I think that will be a permanent reduction. There are others that will also be lost such as planning fees. The situation will very much depend on the local authority. In my local authority, harbour dues, for example, will be lost. Significant portions of the €108 million per month will be lost. So far, in answer to other Deputies, the Minister of State has indicated that the Cabinet will consider this on Friday. I want to know what they are considering. I hope the Minister of State will give me the same clarity in this answer as he gave me in the last. Is it his intention to meet the entire loss, or what portion of the loss of the €1.3 billion annually, amounting to €108 million per month, does he propose to meet for the duration of the crisis?

I am very conscious of the time. What I am being told by finance officers across the country is that they estimate that, at a minimum, the most optimistic forecast is that they will be down by €10 million of the €108 million per month. They estimate that the total amount that will be lost of their overall €5.7 billion is of the order of €100 million per month. Is that the sort of support the Minister of State is going to announce and pony up to local authorities on Friday?

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