Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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409. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his views on whether local authorities have become significantly more reliant on revenues from commercial rates in view of the fact that revenues sourced from this category constituted 29% of total revenues in 2010 but in 2015 constituted 38%of total revenue; his further views on whether local authorities should diversify their revenue income sources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12991/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The monetary amount of each revenue income source to local authorities in the years 2010 - 2015 is set out in Table 1. Table 2 sets out each revenue income source as a proportion of the total for the same period.  

Table 1.

Table 2.

While income from commercial rates has made up an increased proportion of local authorities' income, it has not increased significantly in monetary terms from 2010 to 2015. It is important to note that the local authority funding model changed considerably as a result of the introduction of LPT in 2013 and the establishment of Irish Water. The Local Government Fund (LGF) historically, through GPG allocations, provided local authorities with finance for funding some of their day-to-day activities, including elements of water services costs; for non-national roads; and funding for certain local government initiatives.

The Government decided in the context of Budget 2014 that the former water-related elements of GPGs should continue to contribute to the water services costs that were previously met by local authorities. GPG allocations from the LGF to local authorities in 2013 were €641m and in 2014 were €281.25m. These figures recognise the removal of water related costs from local authorities to Irish Water in 2014 and local authority allocations are therefore not directly comparable to previous years. In 2015, LPT allocations (which replaced GPGs) to local authorities amounted to €458.8m.

LPT was introduced to provide an alternative, stable and sustainable funding base for the local authority sector, providing greater levels of connection between local revenue raising and associated expenditure decisions and giving greater funding certainty for the sector through removing the reliance on other taxes, which may fluctuate according to economic circumstances. It is a matter for each local authority to decide as to how it can maximise local income sources and manage its own spending, in the context of the annual budgetary process.

Section 20 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act 2012 provides local authority members with the power to vary the rates of LPT in their areas from 2015 onwards by up to 15%. If an authority decides to vary the LPT basic rate upwards (by up to 15%) it retains 100% of the resultant additional income collected in that area. Likewise, if the rate is reduced, the authority forgoes the full amount of the reduced income collected. Fewer local authorities decided to lower their LPT rates for 2017 than was the case for 2016, illustrating a growing appreciation of the link between service provision, LPT income and the budgetary process. Limerick, Wexford and Galway County became the first local authorities to use their power to vary the LPT rate upwards for 2017, thereby gaining a combined €3.6m in additional LPT income for the delivery of local services in their areas.