Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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614. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will support the continuation of the rates subvention paid to Offaly County Council on foot of the closure of the Shannonbridge power station beyond 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55146/25]

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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My Department is aware of the financial environment in which all local authorities, including Offaly County Council are operating, specifically the negative impact on the commercial rates income caused by the closure of Shannonbridge power station in Offaly.

Across all schemes and funding sources, my Department has provided Offaly County Council with €56.6m in 2023, €80.9m in 2024 and €38.8m to date in 2025. This includes funding that has been provided in respect of the loss of commercial rates associated with the closure of Shannonbridge station, in the region of €1.7m per annum since 2021.The purpose of this interim funding is to alleviate the loss of commercial rates for the period to the end of 2026, due to the earlier than expected closure of the power plants and to allow a sufficient adjustment period in respect of that income loss, in line with the recommendations of the Just Transition Commissioner.

Further to this, a review of Local Property Tax (LPT) baselines was completed by a working group in 2023, and baselines for 2024 have been adjusted in accordance with the recommendations of this group. It should be noted that following the review, Offaly received an increase of €3.6m to its baseline bringing it to €11.25m. This will increase further to €11.55m in 2026, in line with the expected increased yield after the LPT revaluation.

In respect of the loss of commercial rates in respect of the Shannonbridge Power Station specifically, it should be noted that any allocations from the Local Government Fund can only be confirmed annually, as part of the Estimates process. It is intended that a similar allocation will be provided in 2026.

Whilst the Commissioner’s recommendation covered the period to the end of 2026 and it is expected that the support for lost rates income in respect of Just Transition reduces and eventually ceases, my Department will continue to engage with Offaly County Council on this matter.