Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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1277. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government with four Cork city council projects shortlisted for national innovation awards if he will pledge additional national funding or recognition for award-winning local government initiatives, particularly those advancing energy efficiency, community resilience, and climate awareness. [46811/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I assume the question is referring to the Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards. My Department provides annual funding to Chambers Ireland for the running of these Awards. The Awards are an opportunity to highlight the innovative work of local authorities all across the country. Last year, a total of 98 local authority projects were shortlisted across a broad variety of categories which reflect the important role that local authorities play in contributing to the physical, cultural, social, and environmental development of their communities.

The funding system for local authorities is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services, and funding from Central Government including my Department but also other government departments and state agencies for a variety of purposes. There is a plenitude of areas, in which local authorities take an operational/implementing role, such as those outlined in the various Awards categories, but which do not necessarily have a policy connection to my Department.

My Department has a wide and diverse business agenda, covering a broad range of functions, including local authority housing, voluntary housing, homeless services, estate regeneration, housing grants, rural water schemes, urban renewal/regeneration, and fire services. In order to achieve its business objectives, my Department allocates significant resources to an extensive range of organisations, including local authorities, dedicated agencies, and other bodies. Some allocations, depending on the programmes concerned, are made on a national or other non-county basis in the form of grant funding. That said, my Department has no role in the provision of specific funding to local authorities on the basis of their participation in these Awards.