Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2019
514. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount allocated to the Local Government Fund in each of the years 2010 to 2018 and to date in 2019; the composition of the fund by income from motor tax, income from the Exchequer and the local property tax in tabular form. [40930/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe accounts of the Local Government Fund, including income and expenditure, are audited by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General each year. The audited accounts for 2010 to 2018 are available on my Department's website at the following link;
https://www.housing.gov.ie/search/archived/archived/archived/current/type/publications?query=Local%20Government%20Fund%20Accounts.
Information concerning the Local Government Fund for 2019 is contained on page 166 of the Revised Estimates 2019 which is available at the following link;
https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/5035/201218100533-227c552da63d401ca85493a67c93e5de.pdf#page=1.
At the start of 2018 a number of changes made to the structure of the Local Government Fund took effect. These changes arose from the recommendations of the Report of the Working Group on the Future Funding Model for Irish Water and were consistent with the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services. It was agreed that all State funding to Irish Water in respect of domestic water services would be channelled through the Vote of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and therefore funded from general taxation.
As the subvention to Irish Water is no longer paid from the Local Government Fund (LGF) a number of consequential changes were also made:
- LPT is now paid directly to the LGF by the Revenue Commissioners;
- Motor tax is now paid into the Exchequer and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTaS) has taken over responsibility for motor tax policy;
- The allocation to DTTaS, to fund regional and local roads and other public transport infrastructure, is now funded directly through the DTTaS Vote; and,
- There is no longer a requirement for a payment to the Exchequer from the LGF.
These changes were introduced by the Water Services Act 2017.
