Nineteen counties to share €100m property tax ‘top up’

Nineteen county councils will receive €100 million of redistributed funds from urban and other areas which take in more property tax.

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly said the "top ups" from the "equalisation fund" are necessary "to create a balanced system of funding across local authorities".

Donegal County Council will be the highest beneficiary with a €13.9 million transfer from counties in Dublin, the commuter belts and elsewhere, with Tipperary following closely behind with a €12.9 million transfer.

Councils are allowed retain 80 per cent of the property tax raised in their areas, with the remaining 20 per cent given to the equalisation fund.

Cork City, Kerry, Clare, Cork County, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin City, Fingal, Galway City, Kildare, Meath, South Dublin and Wicklow will subsidise the rest of the councils.

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly said they still will be able to reduce property taxes by up to 15 per cent.

However, in tandem with this, the Coalition is reducing another funding stream from central government, the Local Government Fund, to the better off councils.

Letters are being sent to local authorities tonight informing them of how much the reduction will be. The Local Government Fund is usually used to pay for roads, housing and other one of spending projects.

Mr Kelly said “no local authority across the country is worse off from the baseline they were at in 2014”.