Galway County Council continues to be underfunded to the tune of millions of euro. This is something that again shows the poor budgeting of this Government, the fact that it is unable to fund Galway County Council as is needed. This has consequences. This is something that the people of County Galway live every single day. It is seen in the state of our roads. If one looks at the state of the roads across Conamara, that is a safety issue. People do not have basic infrastructure. If we take the health of the people of County Galway, if the Council does not have the maintenance funding to be able to conduct necessary maintenance on homes, that will have health implications for its people. Can the Minister of State tell us why the Government continues to underfund Galway County Council? Can he please give us an exact reason as to why, because this is not the first time I have raised this in this Chamber. Five years ago, myself and Deputy Kerrane raised it with the Minister at the time, and we have seen no resolution come as a result. It is high time for action.

Sentiment score: -0.00

One thing I have learned in this Chamber is that if the Government does not want to explain something, it will say it is complex, and that it is a little bit too complex for us to understand. It is not too complex for us to understand. We are fully and acutely aware that Galway County Council has continuously been underfunded. How do we know that? It is because Galway County Council has been clear about it. It has been raised in meetings, including county council meetings. The council has been clear that the funding is not there to deliver the services that people need. The Minister of State might not be the Minister in charge in this regard, but he is a Minister of State at the Department of Finance. He fully understands that in order for things to function, they need to be funded. That is what we are asking the Government to do here.

Sentiment score: 0.07