Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 January 2010
23 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the position regarding the funding over and above the funding allocated for 2010 as part of the budget to be provided to local authorities to cover their costs for responding to the recent flooding, snow and freezing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2445/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra29 Deputy Liz McManus asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of local authorities that sought additional funding as a result of the recent flooding and adverse weather conditions; the amount sought by individual local authorities; the amount granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2460/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra64 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the position regarding the moneys that have been sought by local authorities over and above funding already allocated as part of the budget and Estimates to cover their costs for responding to the recent flooding, snow and freezing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2446/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra294 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the need to allocate extra funding to local authorities in view of the expenditure incurred by them arising from inclement weather conditions in the past number of months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2913/10]
Amharc ar fhreagra295 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has received requests for extra funding from local authorities in the wake of the recent severe weather conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2914/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 23, 29, 64, 294 and 295 together.
General-Purpose Grants from the Local Government Fund are the contribution that my Department makes to local authorities to meet the gap between the cost to them of providing a reasonable level of day-to-day services and the income they obtain from other sources. A total of €870m in General-Purpose Grants will be provided to local authorities from the Local Government Fund in 2010.
The Local Government Fund is also providing significant funding to local authorities for the improvement and maintenance of local and regional roads. The allocation of local and regional road grants to individual local authorities is a matter for the Minister for Transport.
Local authorities now have access to an additional revenue stream, the €200 non-principal private residence (NPPR) charge. As of 15 January, €58,164,420 has been collected in respect of 2009, all of which, less transaction and administrative costs, accrues to local authorities.
It is a matter for each local authority to prioritise its spending, within the resources available to it, across the range of services it provides. Equally, local authorities must ensure full value for money for the resources invested, and seek the maximum efficiency across their operations. I am satisfied that the general purpose grant allocations I have provided for 2010, together with the income available from other sources, will enable Local Authorities to deal with the adverse winter weather conditions and continue to provide an acceptable level of service to their customers.
In addition, I provided some €16.5m in supplementary funding at the end of 2009 to assist local authorities in the worst hit areas in meeting the immediate and exceptional costs incurred in dealing with the recent flooding crisis. The following table details the amount sought by and granted to individual authorities. Payments were made to the local authorities in the week before Christmas.
|
Local Authority |
Application |
Allocation |
|
€ |
€ |
|
|
Athy Town Council |
5,000 |
5,000 |
|
Ballinasloe Town Council |
252,123 |
252,123 |
|
Carlow County Council |
123,060 |
123,060 |
|
Cavan County Council |
130,000 |
130,000 |
|
Clare County Council |
1,145,000 |
1,145,000 |
|
Cork City Council |
3,110,206 |
3,110,206 |
|
Cork County Council |
15,509,028 |
5,768,519 |
|
Fermoy Town Council |
5,200 |
1,700 |
|
Galway County Council |
3,000,000 |
3,000,000 |
|
Kildare County Council |
221,000 |
221,000 |
|
Leitrim County Council |
525,000 |
525,000 |
|
Limerick City Council |
81,082 |
81,082 |
|
Limerick County Council |
1,380,300 |
180,300 |
|
Longford County Council |
388,506 |
137,506 |
|
North Tipperary County Council |
338,240 |
187,940 |
|
Offaly County Council |
50,003 |
50,003 |
|
Roscommon County Council |
1,015,000 |
1,015,000 |
|
South Tipperary County Council |
201,008 |
201,008 |
|
Westmeath County Council |
541,310 |
353,810 |
|
Total |
28,021,066 |
16,488,257 |
