Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien. I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to outline today the funding and Government support for local authorities, with particular reference to Longford County Council.

The Minister acknowledges the current financial environment in which all local authorities, including Longford County Council, are operating, but specifically the negative impact on the commercial rates income caused by the closure of Lough Ree power station in Longford. It is recognised that the now closed power station was the single largest ratepayer in the county and accounted for approximately 15% of the commercial rates in 2019. To alleviate the negative impact of the closure, the Department has provided compensatory funding to the local authority at a cost of €1.4 million in 2021 and €1.3 million in 2022 and again in 2023. The Minister is pleased to confirm that this arrangement will continue in 2024, with support of €1.3 million being secured for this year. However, it should be noted that any allocations from the Local Government Fund can only be confirmed annually as part of the Estimates process. That said, it is intended that a similar allocation will be sought in the Estimates for 2025 and 2026.

The Government continues to make significant contributions to the local government sector each year, with €466.2 million secured for 2024 from the Local Government Fund. A large portion of this figure, €331.5 million, will go towards assisting local authorities with the cumulative effect on pay costs arising from the previous Building Momentum pay agreement and the most recent national pay agreements. This allocation will ensure that the sector will have the necessary resources, in terms of people, to perform its functions and provide essential public services to our citizens, which are in excess of 1,000 services.

Longford County Council received €3.1 million in 2023, with a provisional allocation of €3.47 million assigned for 2024. The 2024 allocation is to further increase following the most recently ratified pay agreements. The local property tax allocation to Longford for 2024 will be €10.7 million and this will include €8.26 million of equalisation funding from the Exchequer. It should be noted that following the LPT baseline review, Longford’s baseline has increased by €1.5 million to €10.4 million. All local authorities have the opportunity to increase or decrease their basic rate of LPT by up to 15%, as Senator Carrigy stated. The Minister would like to acknowledge the elected members of Longford County Council for taking the decision to increase this rate by 15% for 2023 and 2024. This upward variation on what is a relatively low base will lead to more than €300,000 in extra income for 2024, which will be of great assistance during the year.

The Minister is very aware of the financial challenges facing the sector and, in recognition of the ongoing pressures, additional support of €60 million was secured to assist the sector in 2023. The purpose of this additional funding was to assist Longford County Council and other local authorities in meeting the increasing costs, in particular increased energy costs, involved in providing a wide range of services. Longford County Council received €660,000 in this regard.