By Maggie Chambers
Galway City Councillors have unanimously rejected a 10 per cent increase to Local Property Tax (LPT), amid growing frustration over the level of Government funding allocated to the authority.
At the council’s monthly meeting on Monday, officials proposed hiking the tax to generate an extra one million euro in annual revenue, which would be ring-fenced for footpath repairs across the city.
The proposed increase would have raised three million euro over three years, which councillors were told would cost the average household an additional €29 a year.
All 17 elected members present rejected the proposal, citing the ongoing cost-of-living pressures households are facing, and the chronic underfunding of Galway City Council.
The decision follows an amendment to the Finance Act which increased the cap on LPT from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.
Fianna Fail’s Peter Keane opened the debate by recalling his decision to use his casting vote as Mayor in 2024 to increase LPT by 15 per cent, for which he said he faced significant criticism.
He said he would support a further increase, and criticised the current Government funding model, which he argued put Galway City Council at a disadvantage to other local authorities.
Labour Councillor Niall McNelis echoed those concerns, accusing local Oireachtas members of pitting the city against the county for funding.
He also criticised the fact that Galway City Council did not receive any increase in its funding allocation this year.
Fine Gael’s Frank Fahy proposed rejecting the increase, arguing that ‘the timing is wrong’ given the current cost-of-living crisis.
Social Democrat Councillor Alan Curran agreed, describing the way the authority is funded as “beyond a joke”.
Independent Councillor Mike Cubbard also raised concerns about the financial impact on households, saying that an additional €29 per year would be significant for families who are already facing rising bills.
Much of the debate focused on the role of Galway’s Oireachtas members securing funding for the city.
Independent Councillor Donal Lyons accused local TDs and Senators of ‘not delivering for the people of Galway’ and suggested that a cross-party delegation travel to Dublin to express the council’s frustration over a lack of funding.
Fine Gael’s Shane Forde supported the proposal saying, “forget those Oireachtas members… they’re not doing anything for us on the ground”. He acknowledged it was not an easy criticism to make as a member of a government party but agreed that delegation should travel to Dublin and lobby Ministers for additional funding.
Fianna Fail’s Michael Crowe asked the council executive if any other income streams of revenue have been considered, rather than repeatedly turning to homeowners who have lived in Galway for years and contributed through local taxes.
Concluding the debate, Mayor Helen Ogbu said securing a meeting with government ministers should now be a priority.
She described Galway City Council as one of the ‘least funded local authorities in Ireland’, arguing that the existing funding model has left the council’s ‘hands tied’.
A separate motion calling for a cross-party delegation to travel to Dublin to lobby for increased Government funding was also carried unanimously. A date for the delegation’s visit has yet to be confirmed.