Councils ‘starved like a mangy dog’ due to lack of central funds, PAC told

LOCAL authorities have been “starved like a mangy dog” with a lack of central government funding leading to an increased reliance in business rates, the Public Accounts Committee has been told.

The claim was made at the PAC by Fianna Fáil TD Shane Cassells who argued that other sources of funding including the Local Property Tax (LPT) amount to “Houdini” acts and businesses are now among the chief funders of county councils. The PAC is to examine the funding of local authorities and will grill Department of Housing and Local Government officials on the matter in the coming weeks.

The committee is considering how to approach the probe and what organisations should be brought in.

Mr Cassells wants business representatives to be invited, saying that 36pc of councils’ incomes comes from rates payments. He said councils’ income from LPT “pales into insignificance” when compared with the proportion businesses pay.

Independent TD Catherine Connolly said that business groups don’t come under the PAC’s remit and the TDs should focus on the cash going to councils from central government.

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy agreed that LPT – which provides around 8pc of local authority income – is a “Houdini trick” saying there’s a perception it is replacing government grants and it isn’t.