Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1106: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to invest in local government enforcement capacity. [19973/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I am reviewing the overall employment levels in the local government sector having regard to the need to deliver front line services, intensify enforcement activity, and achieve value for money within the parameters of Government policy on public service employment generally.

Insofar as funding is concerned, the record level of funding available to local authorities in 2007 through grants from the Local Government Fund and income from local sources will enable the authorities to provide an acceptable level of services including enforcement. General purpose allocations from the Local Government Fund, which are provided to local authorities to assist towards their day to day operational costs, amount to €958 million in 2007, representing an increase of 8% over the corresponding allocation for 2006 and well ahead of inflation. The level of general purpose funding provided by the grants has risen by 180% over the last decade and this level of increase reflects in real terms the continued commitment of the Government to resourcing the local government sector.