Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 153: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he proposes to provide additional funding to the various local authorities throughout the country with a view to offsetting the impact of the downturn in the economy and providing essential services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43289/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Local authorities will spend some €11.7bn on capital and current expenditure in 2009. Some €1.6bn will be available for allocation via the Local Government Fund. General-Purpose Grants are the contribution that my Department makes to local authorities to meet the gap between the cost to them of providing a reasonable level of day-to-day services and the income they obtain from other sources. A total of €935.2m in General-Purpose Grants will be provided to local authorities from the Local Government Fund.

The Local Government Fund is also providing significant funding to local authorities for the improvement and maintenance of local and regional roads. An amount of €564.5m has been allocated to the Department of Transport from the Local Government Fund for 2009 for this purpose. An additional amount in the region of €80m will be allocated for particular purposes including the operation of Water Services, and the administration of Group Water Schemes and the Vehicle Registration Unit.

General purpose grants are important in assisting local authorities to balance their budgets. They comprise about one fifth of the funding required by authorities to provide their day to day services, although the proportion varies between authorities. Local authorities receive income from a range of sources including rates, charges for goods and services, specific State grants and general purpose grants from the Local Government Fund. There are no additional resources available to me to increase general purpose funding to local authorities.

It is a matter for each local authority to prioritise its spending, within the resources available to it, across the range of services it provides. Equally, local authorities must ensure full value for money for the resources invested, and seek the maximum efficiency across their operations. I am satisfied that the general purpose allocations I have provided for 2009, together with the income available from other sources, will enable Local Authorities to provide an acceptable level of service to their customers.