Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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It should be noted that local authorities have been under sustained financial pressure since the beginning of the pandemic, which has necessitated extensive financial support from Government over the past number of years, in the form of a commercial rates waiver, compensation for lost income and pandemic related expenditure, and, more recently, assisting authorities faced with increased energy and payroll costs. As a commitment in the Programme for Government, I welcome consideration of the topic and am supportive of proposals to raise the awareness, engagement and understanding of citizens in the local government budgetary process. There are many existing avenues of engagement between the public and local authorities that influence budgetary decisions, including through SPCs, public consultations on LPT decisions and a range of community engagement structures. It is intended to consider the issue of participatory budgeting further as soon as possible.