Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023
454. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the level of funding provided to local authorities to fund cleaning and maintenance crews to support Tidy Towns groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34943/23]
View answerI have no function in the matter raised in the question. The voluntary effort and dedication of each TidyTown group is typically supported by the local authority in which a given group operates. My Department does not allocate specific funding for cleaning and maintenance purposes as outlined in the question, as these are operational matters for each individual local authority.
The democratically elected Councillors are responsible for running the local authority in conjunction with the Chief Executive and his/her team. Under Section 149 of the Local Government Act 2001, the Chief Executive of a local authority is responsible for the executive functions of the local authority, and for that purpose to manage and control generally, the administration and business of the authority, subject to law.
Local authorities receive income from a variety of sources, including grants from Central Government, Local Property Tax (LPT), commercial rates and other locally-raised charges. Each local authority is mandated to determine its own spending priorities, while having regard to locally identified needs and available resources.
