Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
853. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the funding of local government including the source of the funding local property tax, grants and so on in tabular form; the way that this funding has changed in each year from 2008 taking into account the removal of water services from the local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41931/22]
View answerThe funding system that applies to local authorities in Ireland is a complex one, as those authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and services and funding from Central Government including my Department but also other government departments and state agencies. Most of the funding from Central Government to local authorities must be used for specified services.
The local government funding model changed considerably in 2014, primarily due to the establishment of Irish Water. Its financial relationship with the local government sector had a considerable impact on local authority financing at that time. In allocating General Purpose Grants (GPG) from the Local Government Fund for 2014, my Department took account of the movement of certain water related activities from Local Authorities to Irish Water. This is reflected in the fall of general purpose grant payments between 2013 and 2014, while Local Property Tax payments to local authorities began in 2015.
A significant change to local government structures also took place in 2014 when town and borough councils were amalgamated with their county authorities. Information on central funding allocated between 2008 and 2013 to each of the 88 local authorities that existed before the amalgamation is not readily available and its compilation would involve a disproportionate amount of time and work.
The attached tables details the source of Local Authority revenue income between 2014 and 2020.
Local authorities also receive central government funding for capital expenditure by means of Government grants and subsidies. This information can be seen in Appendix 6 of the audited annual financial statements (AFS) of each authority.
The amalgamated annual financial statements of all local authorities are available on my department's website at the following link;
www.gov.ie/en/collection/e103b-local-authority-annual-financial-statements
