Kildare Council Receives €715 Per Person Annually To Provide Services As Other Counties Get Much More

Friday, 27 June 2025 14:46

By Martin Osborne

The county’s population has jumped 50% in 20 years, reaching 246,000 in 2022.

A Kildare North TD says the county is being short-changed on Government funding.

Fine Gael’s Joe Neville told the Dáil that Kildare has one of the lowest council budgets per person in the country - despite a booming population.

The county’s population has jumped 50% in 20 years, reaching 246,000 in 2022.

Deputy Neville cited figures that detail how council spending per head is just €715 per year.

He said that’s well below Dublin City Council's €1,900 and Leitrim’s €1,256.

Deputy Neville says the funding gap is hitting key services - including Garda numbers, childcare, water, roads, and libraries.

He’s calling for a major increase in Kildare’s baseline Local Property Tax allocation from 2026 to bring funding in line with other fast-growing counties.

The Government gives each council a baseline allocation - a guaranteed minimum amount of funding, regardless of how much they raise locally through LPT.

This is designed to help councils with lower property tax income still deliver basic services.

A Department of Housing official says most funding is tied to specific projects.

But Neville insists the system punishes counties like Kildare that are building homes and growing fast.

He said the Department of Housing "consistently gives less money to Kildare County Council per head of population".

He added: "As our population has increased, we have actually lost out significantly. That reduces our services and our ability to put the services in place for our communities. That needs to be changed from the Department."