Cash strapped council hasn’t even access to a hedge fund

Date Published: 02-Jul-2009

GALWAY County Councillors were this week informed that the financial affairs of the Council are now so dire, there is no money left for even the most basic road maintenance or hedge-cutting with six months of the year still to go.

In presenting a financial update to members, County Manager Martina Moloney revealed that not only was the council effectively broke, but it is now running a deficit of €39million.

While at the start of the year, the council was running a deficit of €19million, that situation has worsened considerably in the first five months of 2009 – due to the impact of the supplementary budget introduced by Minister Brian Lenihan in April 2009 and a vast reduction in income in every department at the council.

The situation is now so grave that most major – and vital – water and waste water programmes will not be initiated in the coming year and even hedge-cutting, the trimming of grass verges and the filling of potholes will grind to a halt.

The situation was summed up by Director of Services at the Council’s Roads and Transportation Office, John Morgan when he told councillors who asked when various minor projects would be carried out that “the money isn’t there.”

The same message was…