Galway scheme that shells out just €11,000 costs €165,000 to run

It is costing a whopping €165,000 to administer a scheme in Galway that shells out just €11,000 in funding – and even then that funding is split between just two towns in the county.

Now an inquiry has been called into the logistics of a scheme that provides so little given the cost of implementing it.

The Revitalising Areas by Planning, Investment and Development (RAPID) programme is aimed at improving the quality of life in the most disadvantaged communities.

It operates in both Ballinasloe and Tuam – but budget figures from Galway County Council show that each town is getting just €5,500 for the coming year.

And yet the figures show that two staff employed under the RAPID Programme are receiving combined wages of €165,000 – a revelation confirmed by senior officials this week.

That raised eyebrows at this week’s meeting of Ballinasloe Municipal Council as it was confirmed that the actual RAPID spend was a mere six percent of the overall cost of the scheme.

Cllr Michael Finnerty, who is Chairman of Ballinasloe Municipal Council, said that he was shocked by the cost of implementing the scheme and the amount of money that was being delivered.

“If these are the wages for two people, then I think that the programme has passed its sell-by date and should be reviewed as a matter of urgency,” he told The Connacht Tribune afterwards.

Director of Finance Ger Mullarkey confirmed to the meeting that the RAPID allocations were for both Tuam and Ballinasloe and the remainder was to finance the wages of two people.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.