Press Release: Kilkenny County Council estimates loss of €110m income if boundary changes
Date: Friday 29th January 2016
As part of the Waterford Boundary review Kilkenny County Council has made its submission to the Boundary Committee. The submission estimates the value of the lost income to Kilkenny County Council of €110 million (€0.110 billion). It highlights the loss of Local Property Tax, Commercial Rates and Development contributions that would be lost if the boundary was to change and also notes that this loss of income will result in an increase in the cost of public services in county Kilkenny.
In June 2015, Mr. Alan Kelly, TD established the Waterford Boundary Committee under section 28 of the Local Government Act 1991. The Minister appointed a three man committee to undertake the review and the committee have until the 31st of March 2016 to report to the Minister. The Committee is required to carry out a review of the boundary between the City and County of Waterford and County Kilkenny. The Waterford Boundary Review is one of four reviews currently underway with the others being Carlow/Laois, Westmeath/Roscommon and Louth/Meath.
A public consultation process has just closed where members of the public were asked for their views on the process. Commenting on the review Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Mary Hilda Cavanagh said "There has been an overwhelming response from the people of Kilkenny as people have figured out that this is not just an issue that will affect the south of the county if the boundary were to change, it will affect the whole of Kilkenny. The figures are staggering. While we are still waiting for an exact figure from the Boundary Committee on the number of submissions, I believe the final count will record that in excess of 20,000 submissions were made to the Boundary Committee on this review. Even more staggering is the potential loss of income to Kilkenny County Council at an estimated of €110 million."
Councillor Pat Dunphy, Chairman of the Municipal District of Piltown, noted that "We all want to see our neighbours in Waterford do well; however it cannot be at the expense of Kilkenny. The potential loss to Kilkenny of €0.110 billion would scupper many projects for County Kilkenny. The Minister needs to stop this now, before any more time and money is wasted by both Kilkenny County Council and Waterford City and County Council".
NOTE: A copy of the Kilkenny County Council submission to the Waterford Boundary Committee is available on the Kilkenny County Council web site: www.kilkennycoco.ie.
ENDS.
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