Making Apple tax surplus available to councils, would 'make a real difference' to Louth projects
Independent Councillor Ciarán Fisher has called for more funding for local governments to spend, calling for a portion of the windfall tax from Apple to finance his proposal.
Outlying his argument he has stated that funding for Louth County Council is mostly reactive with little funding available for proactive investment in housing, roads and other facilities to improve the lives of those living in the county.
"The central government has been almost patronising about how well Ireland has been doing. Ahead of the general elections, the budget surpluses were a source of quasi-bragging for the sitting parties – but that was only salt in the wound of people who haven’t seen that on-paper wealth, translate into tangible improvements for their day to day life: Our healthcare system is still bursting at the seams, we are in a housing crisis, we have some of the largest class sizes in Europe, our Garda are struggling to recruit and so on”.
"The state struggles with getting value for its money, which also contributes to the disconnect between Ireland being a rich country, but not always feeling like on: Dare I mention the National Children’s Hospital? Or the recently released files that revealed the Narrow Water Bridge would have cost £500,000 fifty years ago (about 8million in today’s money) but was dismissed…now it’s running to a cost of 100million plus!”
"As a new councillor, I have been privy to how local government, and in particular the role of the local councillor has been hamstrung by financing issues and the gradual removal of councillors’ powers”.
