Chief Executive welcomes Council’s decision to reduce Local Property Tax by 10%

The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, Paul Reid, has welcomed the decision of councillors at last night’s monthly meeting to reduce the 2018 Local Property Tax by 10 per cent.

Councillors have the option each year to make an adjustment in the Local Property Tax of up to 15 per cent but they voted by 20 votes to 17 to accept a Labour Party motion to impose a 10 per cent reduction.

“I welcome the decision of the elected members to impose a 10 per cent reduction as this will generate €1.9m which will be ring-fenced for local services, housing and homeless supports,” said Mr Reid.

“If Councillors had voted to take the full 15 per cent reduction we would have had to cut services in order to balance our budget. There have been detailed engagements over the past few weeks and months with the Corporate Policy Group and the various political parties and groupings in which the Council’s Management Team set out some of the very real upward pressures on our costs in providing services to a growing county like Fingal.

“We are the fastest growing Local Authority in the country with a population growth rate of eight per cent which is twice the national average. We also have the youngest population across the country with growth levels of 20 per cent in school-going children.

“Fingal is strategically important to the continued growth of both the National and Dublin economies and our councillors have shown with this decision that they are prepared to put the interests of the county first which is in keeping with the leadership they have shown in other areas such as the recently approved development plan and our response to the housing crisis,” said Mr Reid.