The closure of power plants in Offaly and Longford will have a negative impact on the commercial rates income of Offaly and Longford County Councils, an impact which has been fully recognised by my Department. In recognition of this, my colleague, the Minister of State for Planning and Local Government, Peter Burke, T.D., and I recently announced the allocation of compensatory funding for 2021 for each of the two local authorities affected. This once-off allocation is equivalent to the rates that would otherwise have been payable in 2021 by the power plants and will assist Offaly and Longford County Councils with the formulation of budgets for 2021, while supporting the delivery of important local services.