Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 June 2023
660. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the engagement his Department has had with officials in Longford County Council in relation to the exceptional and severe fiscal challenges faced by LCC following the closure of ESB Lough Ree Power Station, Lanesboro, County Longford, and the resulting loss of income. [27216/23]
View answerMy Department is aware of the funding pressures on local authorities generally, but specifically the negative impact on the commercial rates income caused by the closure of Lough Ree power station in Longford. My Department continues to engage with Longford County Council in this regard. It is recognised that the authority was very reliant on commercial rates from the now closed power station, and that it accounted for approximately 16% of the commercial rates receipts for the county in 2019. To alleviate this negative impact, my Department has provided compensatory funding to the local authority at a cost of €1.4m in 2021 and €1.3m in 2022. Further funding has been confirmed and this arrangement will continue in 2023, with support of €1.3m being secured for this year.
The Government is making a significant contribution of €481.3 million in 2023 to support the local government sector. A large portion of this figure, €287.2 million, will go towards assisting local authorities with the cumulative effect on pay costs arising from the National Pay Agreements and the unwinding of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) legislation. It also includes support of €60m, the purpose of which will be to assist Longford County Council and other local authorities in meeting the increasing costs, and in particular increasing energy costs, involved in providing a wide range of services. Longford County Council has been provisionally allocated €660k in this regard.
Across all schemes and funding sources, the Department has provided €30.7m in 2020, €48.5m in 2021 and €36m in 2022 to Longford County Council. Included in this is the unprecedented level of support provided by central Government to local authorities during 2020 and 2021 in respect of the COVID -19 pandemic.
A comprehensive review of the current LPT baselines is nearing conclusion, and is expected to be completed in advance of the local authority budget process for 2024. My Department has engaged with key stakeholders and, in the course of this review, submissions were invited for consideration from other interested parties. Any proposed changes to the current model will need to take into account the needs and resources of all local authorities, which will be considered within the parameters of the national fiscal and budgetary situation.
This review is taking into account the overall funding position of all local authorities, which includes the potential of each authority to raise income locally. The position of Longford County Council will be examined following the conclusion of the baseline review, and this Department will continue to engage with the authority in this regard.
