Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2020
38. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if additional financial support will be made available to local authorities to make up for the shortfall in non-rates revenue and additional expenditure due to Covid-19. [28369/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Sinn Féin has stated previously, we welcomed the significant revenue the Government is providing for local authorities to fill the loss of rates revenue. We are still unclear about what will happen with the loss of non-rates revenue and additional Covid-19 expenditure. I know the Minister cannot tell me how much may or may not be in the budget because he is still negotiating that but he might be able to tell us what the County and City Management Association has told him is the shortfall both for the non-rates revenue and for the additional Covid-19 related costs so that we can have a sense of the scale of the problem.
I thank Deputy Ó Broin. Funding local government is a serious issue and something all of us want to ensure because they have had a very tough time. I take this opportunity to thank the staff in the 31 local authorities across the country who have gone above and beyond the call of duty during this pandemic. Our citizens saw the commitment of the women and men in local authorities to serving their communities.
That is admirable and, therefore, I want to make sure our services are not diminished in any way.
Earlier at the meeting of the Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which Deputies Ó Broin, Cian O'Callaghan and Gould attended, members dealt with the Revised Estimate for 2020 – an additional €600 million, amounting to a rates waiver of 100%. It will be dealt with in the House tomorrow and I expect support from every Deputy. Once the Dáil agrees on the Revised Estimate, we will be able to disburse the €600 million to the local authorities. We have already paid the local property tax for the full year.
To answer the Deputy's question, local authorities have incurred other Covid-related losses and additional costs. I am working hard to make sure this is addressed. I cannot give an exact figure yet; I am not being evasive about that. I am dealing with the County and City Management Association, CCMA. The amounts mentioned by the CCMA and the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, vary. Some local authorities have been hit worse than others, particularly regarding rates. In this regard, there are differences between local authorities. Local authorities may face different pressures. Suffice it to say we are doing everything we can to ensure the hole in local authority funding is plugged for this year. The Ministers of State in my Department, Deputies Peter Burke and Noonan, are committed to doing this. When we have an agreement with the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, I will be required to bring a Revised Estimate to the committee and the House. I hope to be able to do that in the short term.
I thank the Minister for his reply. As he knows from what I said at the committee meeting, we will support the Revised Estimate tomorrow. I understand the CCMA has, in very detailed discussions with the Minister's officials, given ballpark figures for the non-rates revenue and the additional Covid-19 expenditure. They are not absolutely accurate. I would have thought it would have been helpful to share the figures with us so we would have a sense of the quantum of need.
The Minister is correct to emphasise that not all local authorities are affected in the same way. Smaller, rural and more tourism-dependent local authorities, such as that in Kerry and others along the western seaboard, will be much more negatively affected if additional funding is not provided to address the non-rates revenue shortfall as well as that in respect of Covid-19. Some of the larger urban local authorities, mine included, can probably absorb the cost a little better. Without the Minister telling us the exact amount, could he give us at least a ballpark figure from the CCMA? We will find out eventually so why not tell us now rather than in a week, when I will have to ask again?
I would not want to ruin the surprise for the Deputy. To be serious, because this is serious, staff and services are being provided to our citizens across the Twenty-six Counties. A couple of points arise. The €600 million waiver provided is not insignificant. Colleagues will agree that significant work and negotiation were required to ensure a waiver of 100%.
In early April, we advanced €136 million of the local property tax allocations that were made to local authorities. The full allocation of local property tax, some €517 million, was paid to local authorities in September. The only reason I do not want to give the Deputy a ballpark figure is that there are variations in scale and I would be setting an expectation, either low or high; suffice it to say that officials in the Department - very committed civil servants whom the Deputy and colleagues will know very well - are engaging daily with the local government sector. The sector is well aware that we are supporting it and that we are in discussions with other Departments to ensure no deficit in local government funding this year. That is what we are endeavouring to achieve while we negotiate a budget for next year.
We need to be flexible because circumstances will change. Local authorities will need to change and adapt as we continue to live with this pandemic. They perform a crucial role, particularly through the community call initiative being run by our local authorities across the country.
