Legislation

Cumann Comhairlí Contae is Cathrach ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY AND CITY COUNCILS (formerly known as the General Council of County Councils)

Financial Emergencies in the Public Interest Act 2009 This Act which was brought into law in February 2009 was a response to the crisis in the public finances. Among the measures of relevance to local government in this act is the amendment to the Local Government Act 1998. Section 4 of the 1998 Act had specified a Local Government Fund which was to comprise the income from motor tax PLUS a Government contribution of €270 million to be increased annually by at least the Consumer Price Index. The 2009 Act deletes this specification for the Government contribution and replaces it simply with an whatever amount of funding is agreed each year by the Minister for the Environment with the Minister for Finance. In other words the base amount and formula set up by the 1998 Act is now redundant and the Local Government Fund will essentially be funded by whatever amount the Exchequer can bear. Click on this link to see text of act

http://www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2009/a0509.pdf