Galway begs for more state cash

“Galway remains below the national average in housing, development management, libraries, recreation and amenity, community support, and fire and emergency services,” he said.

“The elected members are adamant that the citizens of County Galway should not experience diminished service levels because of where they live. To rebalance these structural inequities and ensure that public services in County Galway meet national and local needs, Galway County Council is seeking an additional €14 million in Equalisation Funding.”

Mr Conneally said the county faced a significant disadvantage despite being the second largest in the State by area and the tenth largest by population.

The Council can spend almost €500 less per resident than comparable local authorities, according to figures cited by the Chief Executive as part of the council’s request for additional funding.

“Galway’s revenue budget sits well below that of smaller counties,” Mr Conneally said.

“Comparator authorities spend an average of €1,537 per capita, whereas Galway can spend only €1,050, a gap of €94 million to reach parity.”

He said that the widening structural deficit has left Galway County Council in the bottom quartile of all local 31 local authorities and the equalisation fund allocation has reduced by €612,974 between 2024 and 2026.

“This reduction has occurred despite councillors’ decision in September 2024 to apply a 15% Local Property Tax increase for a five-year period, an action taken in good faith to strengthen local revenue to fund the council’s work programme,” he said.

The funding gap has also affected staffing levels within the authority and is approximately 20% below the workforce level required. That issue was raised at a recent Galway County Council meeting by Cllr Dermot Connolly, who said the Ballinasloe Municipal District is struggling to cope.

“We have suffered,” he said.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme