The issue of the amount of money owed by central Government to Mayo County Council for works carried out by the council was raised again this week at the monthly meeting of Mayo County Council. Cllr Eugene Lavin brought up the issue asking Peter Duggan, head of finance for Mayo County Council, how much money was owed and how much the council had to pay in relation to interest charges on loans that it has had to take out to cover the debt.
Cllr Michael Kilcoyne told the meeting it was his understanding that it was in the region of €9 million that the council was owed currently by central government, and he proposed that members of the council meet with the elected Oireachtas representatives to discuss the matter and get the money paid in a timely manner. His suggestion was supported by Cllr Michael McNamara. Mr Duggan agreed with Cllr Kilcoyne’s figure of around €9 million, and informed the members that it was costing €180,000 per year to service the loans that they had taken out. “You could fill an awful lot of potholes for that kind of money,” Cllr Kilcoyne retorted.
Mr Duggen said most of the money was owed in relation to polluter pays projects and the costs involved in that, and while the relevant departments were querying certain aspects, the €9 million figure was fairly accurate.
