Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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336. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the way in which the equalisation fund for each local authority is calculated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67683/25]

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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337. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason for reduction in equalisation funding for Galway County Council for 2026 given the council’s difficult financial position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67684/25]

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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338. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the equalisation funding for the years 2024, 2025 and 2026 for each local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67685/25]

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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339. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason Galway County Council consistently receives a lower allocation of equalisation funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67686/25]

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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340. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the LPT baseline assigned to Galway County Council; the way this baseline is determined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67687/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 336 to 340, inclusive, together.

At the outset, it is important to note that Local Property Tax (LPT) funding allocations are decided in accordance with Government approved distribution policies, and are based on the baselines and estimates of the yield in individual local authority areas.

Central Government has traditionally provided non-programme funding to local authorities; in the form of an annual contribution towards meeting the cost of providing a reasonable level of service in their area. Up until 2014, this was in the form of a General Purpose Grant (GPG), and in 2015, it was replaced by LPT allocations. Under the LPT allocation model, every local authority has a minimum level of funding available to it, known as the baseline. LPT baselines were initially linked, for the most part, to GPG’s.

Following a review in 2023, baselines for each local authority were adjusted in accordance with five criteria: population, area, deprivation levels, an authority’s locally raised income and achievement of National Policy Priorities, with every authority receiving a minimum increase of €1.5m. This led to an overall baseline increase of €75.4m in 2024. A summary report which outlines the weighting and application of the criteria to individual baselines is available at this link:

www.gov.ie/en/department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage/publications/summary-report-on-local-property-tax-baseline-review-2023/

Building on the baseline increases of 2024, there will be a further increase of €42m to the overall baselines in 2026, in line with the expected increased yield from revaluation expected in each local authority area.

For an authority with yield below the baseline, such as Galway County, the baseline is a key determinant of the final LPT allocation. It should be noted that Galway County’s baseline has seen a significant increase of almost 50% in a three year period;

• Following the review in 2023, Galway County received an uplift in baseline of €5.8m, which was the second largest increase of any authority.
• As a result of the baseline adjustment being applied following revaluation, Galway County Council’s baseline is increased by an additional €1.3m for 2026, thereby resulting in an overall baseline increase of over €7m or nearly 50% since 2023.