Galway County Councillors are bracing themselves for a major backlash from the public – as they get set to vote for a 15% increase in the Local Property Tax at next week’s meeting of the local authority.

A hike in the LPT would go down like a lead balloon with cash-strapped householders who are already suffering from increased electricity, gas and grocery bills.

The controversial move is being supported by Fine Gael and Independents who have the combined majority on the Council and who believe that the county will get a financial injection of €8 million if the increase is agreed.

However, senior Fine Gael councillor, Pete Roche, said that if there is not a promissory note from the Department of Local Government with a guarantee of this funding, he would not be supporting the increase.

And conversely, he said that if funding is provided to the county, he and his fellow councillors along with independents would be in favour of the 15% increase.

“The funding we receive from the Department is not in line with other similar-sized counties like Mayo and Kerry and we need the additional resources to maintain essential services throughout the county,” he said.

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