While Senator Donohoe has raised a specific problem related to a particular swimming pool run by Dublin City Council, this issue is replicated across the State. I thank the Senator for raising this important matter.
Overall, local authorities have budgeted to spend some €11 billion in current and capital terms in 2009. The capital income is funded mainly through grants, borrowing and other capital income sources. Current expenditure is funded from specific grants, commercial rates, income from goods and services and general purpose grants.
The Government continues to provide significant support to local authorities. In 2009, a total of €905 million in general purpose grants has been made available from the local government fund, of which Dublin City Council has been allocated some €95 million.
General purpose grants are the contribution that the Department makes to local authorities to meet the gap between the cost to them of providing an acceptable level of day-to-day services and the income they obtain from other sources. They contribute almost a fifth of local authorities' current expenditure requirements in 2009. In addition, local authorities themselves generate over half of their income from local sources. Income from charges for goods and services and commercial rates is budgeted to account for some 56% of local authorities' income this year.
The House will be aware that the Government decided to broaden the revenue base of local authorities by introducing a charge on all non-principal private residences. I consider this to be a very important development in providing local authorities with a new source of local revenue and one which will reduce their dependency on central funding. Dublin City Council has already received some €8.2 million from this charge in 2009.
The local authority swimming pool programme, which is administered by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, provides grant aid to a maximum of €3.8 million towards the capital costs of new swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing pools, subject in both cases to the total grant not exceeding 80% of the eligible cost of the project or, in the case of projects located in disadvantaged areas, 90% of the eligible cost. Where a project is being undertaken by an organisation other than a local authority, the proposal must be considered, supported and submitted by the local authority. Before supporting such a project, the local authority would have to be satisfied that the proposal is viable, that the balance of funding required to complete the project is available and that the project when completed would have a suitable level of public access.
The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism has completed and published an expenditure review of the local authority swimming pool programme. The review examined, among other things, how the programme has worked to date and what changes, if any, are required to ensure its effective and efficient delivery. When the programme is re-opened, it will be open to all local authorities, including Dublin City Council, to submit applications under the terms that will apply.
Local authorities are not immune to the effects of the downturn in the economy. While there are pressures on resources at all levels, it is a matter for every local authority, including Dublin City Council, to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process having regard to locally identified needs, including, where appropriate, operating costs of swimming pools. Continued funding of local authorities through the local government fund in 2010, together with the funding authorities receive from existing local sources, will enable them to prioritise delivery of important services to the households, communities and businesses in their areas.
