Council will lobby for funds to make up for €1.2m Covid losses

SLIGO County Council is to lobby local TDs and to seek a meeting with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to seek funding to make up a shortfall of around €1.2m in the local authority’s budget as a result of Covid. The council’s head of finance Marie Whelan, pictured right, told councillors at a meeting on Monday that the council had incurred costs and was continuing to incur costs because of

Covid and had also suffered a shortfall in income budgetted for the year because of the pandemic due to a waiver of rates for businesses and a shortfall of projected income, particularly from parking fees and fines.

She said that last year local authorities had received money from central government to make up the shortfall in budgets because of Covid. However, she said that they were “not expecting good news” on that this year.

“We are going to have difficulties with the remaining three months of 2021 if we don’t get cover on our Covid losses,” she said.

Cllr Thomas Walsh said that he had raised this issue with the Tanaiste Leo Varadkar when he visited Sligo on Friday. He said it was important that the Covid losses would be recouped from the department. Ms Whelan confirmed for him that the overall expected shortfall for council would be around €1.2m.

She said that there had been an improvment in income from parking but at this stage it would never make up what they had budgeted for.

Cllr Joe Queenan said that he was amazed to hear of this situation.

“We cannot afford to take that kind of hit. We are on a very tight budget as we are,” he said.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Paul Taylor said this was “a very big issue” for the council.

“We need to be lobbying our

TDs to try to recoup all or at least a big percentage of this money,” he said.

Cllr Declan Bree suggested that the cathaoirleach should contact the chairs of other local authorities to seek to a have a deputation meet the department.

“It is important that we all speak with one voice on this, “he said.

He said that private businesses had been compensated for losses so it was right that public bodies should be also be.