Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When Galway County Council increased the LPT - it was one of the first local authorities to do so - it was done on the basis that the Department would come with it some of the way, but it did not do that. While one could argue it would have gained an additional €2.2 million by increasing the LPT, I return to the comparisons. Galway County Council's budget for this year is €136 million, while the budgets of the local authorities in Mayo, Kerry and Tipperary are €159 million, €168 million and €185 million, respectively. An additional €2 million, while welcome, would not fill those gaps.

There is a fundamental issue with the model of funding for Galway County Council, as has been conceded by officials in the Department. In fact, they went on to say that the initial model, which dates from more than 20 years ago, is so complex that they do not know which model is used to decide where funding derives from. While Galway County Council has a certain ability to raise additional funding itself, the direct grants it receives from the Department are insufficient for the needs of a county that is the fifth largest by population. The funding we receive is up to the third lowest per capita. There is a serious anomaly in regard to funding for Galway County Council and I ask that the Minister of State's officials address that in a serious fashion.