Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, researchers from NUI Galway launched the 2022 edition of the local authority finances website. It shows that Galway County Council has a budget of under €144 million for this year, which is equivalent of €802 per person in Galway. If you look at the counties surrounding Galway, you can see that Mayo has a budget of the equivalent of €1,256 per person, Clare has a budget of €1,167 and Tipperary has a budget of more than €1,200. Galway is bigger than all of these counties and has a population that is far greater. The most recent census shows that 258,000 people live in the county. The policy makes no sense. Galway is the second largest county in Ireland, yet it is at the bottom of the table year on year when it comes to central Government funding. Despite my raising this matter numerous times, nobody can tell me why. It is towns like Ballinasloe and villages from Ahascragh to Ballymoe and the people who in County Galway that are losing out. They do not have the budget to do what they need to do in respect of housing, water and roads. This issue needs to be addressed. This situation does not make any sense and it is affecting staff numbers. Can the Minister look at this?

See this speech in context