Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is an honour for me to welcome a number of neighbours of mine from home here who are members of the Killoe Men's Shed in County Longford. I pay tribute to them for the work they did through the Covid-19 pandemic period, and I take this opportunity to express my thanks to them. It was a difficult time for everybody but the Killoe Men's Shed and men's sheds throughout the country did magnificent work in helping with rural isolation etc. I say, "Well done."

A number of weeks ago we met with the Irish Men's Sheds Association and it was looking for supports from Government for the sheds. I have a list of things it asked to be taken into account when discussions are taking place, namely, an annual maintenance grant, a sustainability grant, more supports for new start-up sheds, the issue of VAT and commercial rates on some of the buildings the sheds are in, and security of tenure for those that are in buildings or publicly owned buildings so that they know there is a guarantee for the future. I put that on the record and I hope the Government will be positive towards supporting the very good work that they do.

I also wish to raise another matter, which is the loss of commercial rates due to the closure of Lough Ree power station in Longford. As Members will know, this station closed a number of years ago, along with the power station in Shannonbridge. It led to a €1.2 million reduction in the intake of rates for the local authority in Longford. Every year since we have had to appeal and look for money to be provided, and it is only really at the last minute that our local authority finance department is told that money is going to be provided by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. In a Commencement matter last year I received a commitment from Government that we would put a long-term plan in place between now and 2023 to last up to 2026, when we were to have a just transition. The loss of such rates has a serious impact on the ability of our local authority to provide the services that are needed by citizens in our county. I am asking that a multi-annual budget be put in place now, before the recess, for 2023 so that our finance department can put the plans together for the services in our county and so that we know for the years ahead exactly what finance we have and need to continue to provide the vital services in our county.