Clare County Council says it’s critical that it receive government supports to shore up its finances, which have been severely impacted by COVID-19.
The local authority has run a deficit of 8.4 million euro in the first half of the year, and has incurred expenses and loss of income not covered by central government.
An Interim Financial Report from Clare County Council states that its expenditure exceeded its income by 8.4 million euro in the six months to June.
This is not unexpected – the Council had already outlined how it anticipates losing nearly 27 million euro as a result of COVID-19, mainly through a fall-off in income from commercial rates.
This has been somewhat covered by government, but other financial hits have not.
These include some COVID-19 related expenses, and a fall in other income sources such as parking charges, planning receipts, and monies from civic amenity sites.
The report also strikes a downbeat economic assessment, highlighting what it calls the “devastating impact” on the tourism industry, and the “diminishing” likelihood of a quick economic recovery.
To date, the Council has received only €8 million in additional government funding to compensate for a rates waiver, and the financial report states it is “critical” that it is fully compensated for all losses.
The Department of Local Government says it recognises that local authorities are incurring additional costs, and says Clare County Council can “be assured” that it is representing the local government sector in the build-up to Budget 2021.
