Mayo County Council is to receive an additional €1.5m in funding next year after Minister Darragh O'Brien announced this week that the Local Property Tax (LPT ) baseline fund, which ensures every local authority receives a minimum amount of funding from the local retention of LPT - is to increase for all local authorities by over €75 million.
The increase will see Mayo's fund allocation increasing from €19,812,344 in 2023 to €21,312,344 in 2024, with the announcement stating: "This baseline funding is essential and recognises the essential role played by local authorities, not only in delivering a broad range of services day-to-day, but also in successfully leading the local response to emergency situations; such as the sector’s establishment of Community Call during Covid-19, and more recently the community response fora to support the Ukrainian crisis."
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD added: "Local Authorities play an integral role in the delivery of services to our citizens. I am aware of the growing challenges faced by local authorities due to the increase in demand for services and the growing cost of providing these. This significant increase in funding should go a long way towards easing the pressure on the sector."
A Working Group review identified that the baseline funding of some local authorities needed adjustment according to certain criteria, which included population, area, deprivation levels, local authority income raising capacity and national policy priorities - and would result in some authorities seeing a greater increase in funding than others. However, all 31 local authorities will see their baseline funding increase by a minimum of €1.5m in 2024.
Galway City Council is also to receive a €1.5m boost under the fund in 2024 - while Galway County Council has been allotted an increase of almost €6 million.
