Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The essential role played by local authorities in our lives has never been more evident than during the Covid-19 crisis. They have provided real local leadership across the country and have helped communities to work together in these exceptional and difficult times. They have maintained virtually all of their services, even during lockdowns, and have played key roles in supporting local businesses and protecting vulnerable people in our communities.

Some €900 million was set aside by the Government in 2020 to provide for commercial rates waivers to a wide range of businesses. This was done in recognition of the fact that many ratepayers had to close their businesses or suffered significant reductions in turnover. This unprecedented measure provided support to businesses and certainty to our local authorities, enabling them to continue to deliver services across the country. Most of the waiver funding was paid to local authorities in December, with the balance being paid this month. To date, almost €730 million of commercial rates have been waived for almost 122,000 ratepayers, which is almost 85% of all ratepayers. The Government has recently announced a further rates waiver to be provided in the first quarter of 2021, for the businesses most seriously affected by ongoing restrictions. Some €160 million has been allocated to this end and details were issued to local authorities yesterday, 27 January.

Income from services and local charges accounted for 26% of the local government sector's total budgeted income in 2020. That income is down by an estimated €71 million due to Covid-19's impact on areas such as parking charges, planning fees, and leisure or tourism related activities. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has sanctioned the distribution of any unspent funds from the overall rates waiver allocation to the sector, in order to help minimise the impact of the reduction in these income streams and to meet other costs arising from Covid-19, such as for PPE.

Local authorities have also played an instrumental role and a critical part in the roll-out of the restart and restart plus scheme. This grant scheme made €635 million available to help micro and small businesses with the costs of reopening and re-employing workers following Covid-19 closures. Local authorities processed over 108,000 applications and made subsequent payments to SMEs on behalf of the Departments of Finance and Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

From the very beginning of this emergency, it was recognised that people who were cocooning or self-isolating would need extra help, particularly if their usual networks of support were not able to reach them at that time of strict public health measures. In response, the Community Call initiative was launched as a safety net for such people, many of whom were among the most vulnerable in our communities. The initiative brought together national government, local government and the community and voluntary sectors to ensure practical supports, like the collection and delivery of food, meals, fuel, medication, pensions and other essential items, would be in place at a local level. Each local authority established a Community Call forum to co-ordinate this locally. This brought together all those involved locally, including the HSE, An Garda Síochána, Civil Defence, an army of community and voluntary organisations, volunteers and councillors. I acknowledge the huge amount of work that went into this initiative.

I also pay tribute to the dedicated team in our Department and the HSE working with our Traveller community in this time of crisis. We spent almost €4 million on specific Covid measures for 2020. I met last week with the Irish Traveller Movement and am keeping in constant contact with that very vulnerable community. We have also established a programme board to implement the 31 recommendations of the expert report and we are working very closely with them to ensure they are kept safe during this very difficult time.

See this speech in context