Two local priorities fund applications are granted

SOUTH Dublin County Council has granted funding for two applications as part of the Local Priorities Fund, which was set up following the elected members’ decision to apply a 7.5 per cent reduction in Local property Tax.

The Local Priorities Fund totals €1m, equivalent to €25,000 per councillor, has so far granted almost €11,500 to two Local Electoral Areas this quarter.

The Clondalkin Equine Club received €6,179.69 of its €125,000 for resurfacing works, following an application that was submitted by Councillor Daniel Loftus.

In the Lucan Electoral Area, Councillor Joanna Tuffy applied for funding for the installation of a solar bin on Esker Hill, at the entrance to Brookvale.

Funding to the amount of €5,259.60 was granted for this project, which comes as part of the €125,000 that has been assigned to the Lucan LEA.

These two applications are the only agreed applications to date, as two further applications that were received required further information to establish eligibility. One application was deemed unfeasible based on the costing.

The minimum amount for each allocation from the fund is €2,500.

Since April, five proposals were received, four of which were agreed in principle, but no formal applications have been received, and one proposal did not meet the eligibility criteria of the protocol.

In the first quarter of this year, Councillor Francis Timmons was the only Councillor to make a dent in his five-figure allowance, putting €6,129 towards a new roof for the sensory area at Knockmitten Youth & Community Centre.

The Allocation Protocol was agreed between the elected members and the executive and calls for reports to be presented quarterly to each Area Committee Meeting for noting.

This protocol sets out the approval, drawdown, monitoring and reporting mechanisms to provide oversight on all expenditure under this fund, as agreed between the executive and elected representatives.

The fund gives councillors the opportunity to fund specific projects within their local electoral areas in 2026 and is assigned to each LEA based on the number of councillors within that LEA, with a total of €25,000 assigned to each councillor.

Palmerstown – Fonthill, Lucan and Firhouse – Bohernabreena LEAs have each been granted €125,000, with

€150,000 allocated to Tallaght South and €175,000 worth of funding awarded to Tallaght Central and Rathfarnham – Templeogue LEAs.

Funding cannot be allocated to certain projects such as the sponsorship or advertising of an event or organisation, to cover staffing costs or for projects that will result in significant subsequent ongoing running costs that do not have an identified potential funding source.

Councillors must adhere to this protocol, which also can refuse funding for projects that are designed to benefit a specific individual and those outside the county or projects that are deemed to be contrary to local, regional or national policy

If multiple allocations are made to the same project, the total allocated cannot exceed the total cost of the project.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme