Galway City Council spends €1,000 per head of population
Galway City Council is one of the highest spending local authorities in the country per head of population but it lags behind most other city councils.
Analysis by the think tank, publicpolicy.ie, reveals that City Hall will spend €1,069 per person living within the city boundary this year.
The data also reveals that Galway City is spending three times as much per head of population on the arts than Ireland’s 2014 City of Culture, Limerick City is spending in this sector this year.
The study shows that Galway City Council is heavily reliant on rates, more so than most other local authorities.
Galway City Council’s spend of €1,069 per person is well above the national average but far less than Dublin City, which will spend €1,527 per person; Cork City, which will spend €1,386 per person; and Waterford City will spend €1,084 per person. Limerick City Council will spend €903 per person in 2014.
Galway County Council will only spend €696 per person this year, about 35% less per person than what the City Council is spending on its residents.
Galway City’s priorities are different than other local authorities, with a particular focus on the arts.
For example, the City Council spends more than twice the national average on recreational and amenities – Galway City spends €163 per person on recreation and amenity compared with the national average of €75 – reflecting the importance the city puts on funding the arts.
For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune