Brendan Ryan (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for taking time to take this matter.

The decision by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, to place an embargo on Fingal County Council's spending accumulated planning levies is a disgrace. It is also of questionable legality. It has had an appalling effect on communities that have been working for, and had been promised, much-needed community based facilities.

One of those communities is the Brackenstown community. For years, residents of Brackenstown, Swords have been campaigning for and working towards the provision of their own community centre to meet the community, sporting and recreational needs of the area.

Brackenstown parish includes St. Cronan's, Abbeylea, Ardcian, Brackenstown itself, Daleview, Elmwood, Glasmore, Rathbeale, Oakwood, St. Columba's, Windmill Lands, Swords Manor, Ormonde, Berwick, Abbeyvale, Parkview, Pinegrove, Applewood, Knocksedan, Lioscian, Bunbury Gate and Mooretown. It has in the region of 3,600 houses, with an estimated population of 15,000.

For a long time the local soccer club, Swords Manor, had no pitches. Pitches have now been provided by the local authority, but they still have no proper dressing room facilities. The only facilities available in the area are provided by BASE, Brackenstown Adult Scene of Education, which provides rooms for community activities. Facilities for the youth of the area are totally inadequate.

Those young people who are not interested in sport are hanging around and open to the temptation of anti-social behaviour and possibly more serious crime. Parents in the area are extremely worried about that possibility. The local community has been involved in local fund-raising over the years, and Fingal County Council has responded to the situation after a long battle by local activists and public representatives of all parties.

Following many difficulties a site was identified and commitments were given by Fingal County Council. Community leaders and activists were told that they are top of the list of priorities for community facilities in the area. Moneys were identified and ring-fenced for the project. Approval was given for the project by the council and councillors. Planning permission was lodged and granted last year.

Expectation grew that the first sod was to be turned in September of this year, but then the rug was pulled from under the community by the Department. A directive was issued by the Minister that moneys collected in development levies relating to previous years, and banked for those specific purposes, could not be spent. That is nothing short of a disgrace. It is a scandal. As I said previously, in my view it is of questionable legality.

The council has the money which it has raised from development levies. It wants to spend it on this project, but the Minister has frozen it. Where does subsidiarity come into it? Why is the Minister not allowing the council to manage its own affairs? It is quite capable of doing so in my view, and I know this council very well.

We all know that housing developments eventually result in communities. How long should they have to wait for community facilities? The first estate in this area was built in 1973. Development levies are part of the planning process and are an important resource for local authorities to provide community facilities.

On the day the Minister has brought the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill through the Houses and into law, I call on him to lift the embargo immediately and allow this much-needed facility to go ahead without further delay.

The Brackenstown community is waiting long enough. All the community groups are signed up. They have a viable business plan which has been accepted by the council. They are ready to go, as is Fingal County Council. I ask the Minister to let them off and give them the go-ahead.

I spoke to an activist from Brackenstown today and asked her what she would like me to say to the Minister on this matter tonight. She said:

Ask him to think of the young people of the area now. Our children are disillusioned. Tell him that I fear what will happen in the area over the next number of years.

I ask the Minister to do the right thing for Brackenstown, and do it quickly.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Before I begin I would like to pay tribute to all the officials and staff who contributed to the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill which was passed in the House earlier. I did not get an opportunity to put my thanks on the record of the House and I do so now.

I am taking this Adjournment debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley.

The short answer to the Senator's question is the Stability and Growth Pact but I will go into some detail in the reply.

I begin by pointing out to the House that capital funding to local authorities has not been frozen. In 2010 local authorities have budgeted for capital expenditure of around €4 billion. That will be financed through grants, loans and other capital income.

In February 2009, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government set out details of the financial requirements for local authorities relating to their overall management of capital and current accounts. These requirements flow directly from the requirement for Government finances as a whole to be managed in accordance with the Stability and Growth Pact established under the Maastricht treaty, and the associated limitation on budget deficits.

The Government set a limit of €200 million for the contribution of the local government sector to the deterioration in the general Government balance, GGB, in any one year. This was not a new requirement. However, the downturn in the economy and substantial pressures on Government funding generally required a sharp focus in all sectors, including local authorities, to ensure effective control and management of public finances.

In order to stay within the overall GGB limits, it is necessary for local authorities to maintain both their current and capital accounts broadly in balance. Development contributions, which the Minister understands are at issue in this case, were an important addition to the capital funding resources of local authorities in recent years, but were only one element. There is no specific prohibition on any local authority spending development contributions per se. The only restriction on local authorities is that, in aggregate, capital income must equal capital expenditure in the year.

Balance is only required at an overall level and this allows considerable scope for authorities to draw on their own development contributions as an element of their overall investment programme. The precise manner in which capital and current accounts are managed to achieve the overall balance necessary is a matter for individual local authorities themselves.

Within the overall limits there is additional capacity for non-mortgage borrowing by local authorities. Subject to the maintenance of balanced current and capital accounts, and allowing for the repayment of existing borrowings, up to €250 million in new loan finance can be made available to the local government sector annually to fund capital investment in necessary infrastructure projects.

For 2010, the process of prioritising loan applications for such projects has already been completed. During this process the Department has been guided by local authorities in respect of the most critical projects requiring funding at this time. Final sanction to local authorities to draw down loan financing is being provided as required throughout the year.

While the Minister appreciates that these GGB requirements impose limitations on local authorities, there are considerable funding constraints at all levels of Government and local authorities cannot be immune to the effects of the downturn in the economy.

As the Minister has already indicated, it is a matter for every local authority, including Fingal County Council, to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources within the GGB limits as set out here. In this regard it may be of interest to the House to note that in 2010 so far some €15 million in new loan financing has been allocated to Fingal County Council for capital investment projects.

The Department will continue to work with all local authorities to ensure that, within the context of the overall GGB requirements, decisions on matters of capital investment are taken in a way which maximises available resources and gives the necessary prioritisation to the environmental, economic and social infrastructure.

Brendan Ryan (Labour)
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In terms of the Minister of State's reply, Fingal County Council does not require loan financing. It has the money from previous development levies. It has made several cases to the Department to spend that money. It was disallowed from doing so and therefore loans are not appropriate.

In terms of a specific answer to a question relating to this matter, Fingal County Council stated that the project cannot be advanced at the moment because of the freezing of capital funds as instructed by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I have nothing further to say on the matter but I ask the Minister of State to raise the matter with his senior Minister and tell him that if there is a misunderstanding between Fingal County Council and the Department, it should be addressed.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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On that point, balance is only required at an overall level. There is considerable flexibility for local authorities to make decisions as to how they wish to minimise spending in some areas to maximise spending in other areas. We do not micro-manage the local authorities. We leave it to them to decide how they will spend their money. The local authority in this instance does intend spending €15 million and therefore there is some flexibility in the way it goes about that work.

The big picture, however, is the Stability and Growth Pact and we cannot ignore the wider economic picture. I know that means tough decisions have to be made in some cases but they have to be made at all levels of Government expenditure. As I am sure Senator Ryan is well aware, 80% of the Government budget goes on health, social welfare and education. There are tough decisions to be made but we have to get Ireland through these difficulties in order to emerge and create employment in the future.

Brendan Ryan (Labour)
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The local authority states it has the money and wants to spend it but is being blocked from doing so.