Wicklow County Council funding to be cut by €1.47million by Phil Hogan

Wicklow Sinn Féin Councillor John Brady, has said that Local
Government Minister Phil Hogan is "attacking local democracy" by
imposing further cuts in funding for councils, linking these cuts to
the Household Charge. Wicklow County Council has received confirmation 
from Minister Phil Hogan that the Local Government Fund paid to
the Council is to be cut by €1.47million.


Cllr Brady said "Minister Hogan and his colleagues in the Fine
Gael/Labour Coalition are mounting an assault on local democracy. By
tying local government funding to the un-collectable and inequitable
Household Charge the coalition is putting councils in an impossible
financial position. He is now going to impose further cuts in central
government allocations for councils for the remainder of 2012.

"At the time of Budget 2012 Sinn Féin said clearly that the cut to the
Local Government Fund was unsustainable, that the Household Charge was
unjust and would be widely boycotted and that by making local
government dependent on receipts from the Household Charge, the
coalition was going to undermine services across the board. This is
now taking place and it is citizens in Wicklow and across this State
who are paying the price for the coalition's dogged pursuit of a
failed policy of austerity."

Cllr Brady concluded "  Fine Gael/Labour are to cut the funding to
Wicklow County Council by €1.47million for 2012, this is on top of
previous cuts already imposed. This will have a direct impact on
front-line services unless its rejected. I am asking for an emergency
meeting of Wicklow County Council to be held to discuss the financial
crisis that is now pending in Wicklow because of this attack on local
democracy inflicted by this Government."