Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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407. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps he plans to take to make up the funding shortfall in 2021 in the equalisation fund to both Galway County Council and Galway City Council as outlined in the expert report on the amalgamation of both councils which highlighted the urgent need to deal with this matter before a restructuring of the councils took place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15175/20]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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415. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the €1 million in additional Local Government Fund allocations will be provided to Galway County Council; if the Local Government Fund matrix will be adjusted to increase funding to local authorities whose funding is below the average; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15403/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 407 and 415 together.

The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future commits to reforming and re-imagining our public life. This mission sets out a number of commitments that relate to local authority funding, including setting out how commercial rates will be treated for the remainder of 2020, as a priority action. The Programme also commits to bringing forward legislation for the Local Property Tax on the basis of fairness and that most homeowners will face no increase. The programme states that those counties with a lower LPT base will be adjusted via an annual national equalisation fund paid from the Exchequer, as is currently the case.

Notwithstanding that, all local authorities are experiencing financial challenges as a result of Covid-19. In order to support the local government sector generally, my Department continues to keep local authority income, expenditure and cash flow generally under review and will continue to work with all local authorities on both collective and individual issues that arise, including Galway County Council.