Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 December 2004
27 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the extra financial support he can offer to Waterford County Council in view of its serious financial crisis having to fund an extra €10 million cost for the remediation of former landfills in the county. [32758/04]
View answerI notified local authorities earlier this week of their general purpose grant allocations for 2005 from the local government fund. The allocation for Waterford County Council is €18,889,048. This represents an increase of 7.65% over the corresponding allocation for 2004 and is well ahead of the current rate of inflation. Year on year comparisons show that the council has received an increase of 145% in such grants since 1997.
General purpose grants are a contribution to bridge the gap between the expenditure incurred by local authorities in their day to day operations and the income they can generate locally from commercial rates, local authority housing rents, other charges for goods and services and funding from specific State grants. I am satisfied that the general purpose allocation for Waterford County Council provides an appropriate contribution to the increased costs faced by the council in 2005 and that it will enable the council to frame a balanced and reasonable budget for the coming year.
