Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

Difficult budgetary decisions have rocked ruling pacts at City Hall in recent years.

Not this time. This time the pact held strong. This time the opposition, rather than the controlling pact, was in disarray.

The 10 Councillors in the ‘chairs and chains’ coalition at City Hall didn’t get it all their own way in Budget 2026.

But on the central plank of the proposed draft budget – increasing commercial rates – the pact managed to cushion the blow.

Businesses still won’t be happy with an increase of 3% in commercial rates, coming on top of higher bills in recent years, due to Tailte Éireann rates revaluations.

They won’t like losing the 5% rebate for ratepayers whose rates bills are less than €30,000 annually either, as per the agreed budget. This move will suck €835,000 out of small local businesses in 2026.

But a 3% increase in the Annual Rate on Valuation (ARV) was far more palatable than the 13% that Chief Executive of Galway City Council Leonard Cleary had sought.

The pact of Fianna Fáil (Mike Crowe, Josie Forde, Alan Cheevers, and Peter Keane) Labour (Níall McNelis, John McDonagh, and Helen Ogbu), Sinn Féin (Aisling Burke) and two Independents (Mike Cubbard and Declan McDonnell) argued they had safeguarded businesses, while bringing additional income to the Council’s coffers.

They effectively conceded defeat on hourly parking charges and accepted management’s hourly rate of €2.50, an increase of 25%.

They did not accept management’s proposal for a €30 increase in the monthly parking ticket, or daily parking charges of €12.50. But they’d do well not to crow too much about the day-rate parking hike from €6.50 to €10 at Cathedral and Dyke Road car parks.

That increase could drive shoppers away from the city to County Galway towns, Limerick and Athlone. The €10 per day parking charge doesn’t come into effect until January, but it was passed at the same time that Galway County Council announced free on-street parking in Athenry, Ballinasloe, Clifden, Tuam and Gort this Christmas.

The City Council can argue punitive parking prices are part of a modal shift strategy to encourage people out of their cars, but reliable public transport is not available to many.

Cutting €307,000 from Leisureland and €350,000 from Menlo Castle and €465,000 from retrofitting budgets were unpalatable decisions. And yet the pact passed them without showing any division.

Far from being in tatters, the pact emerged stronger from Budget 2026.

The opposition, on the other hand, was all at sea. Only Alan Curran (Social Democrats) proposed an alternative. Yet, nobody, not even his former party colleague now Independent Eibhlín Seoighthe, seconded it.

Fine Gael trio Eddie Hoare, Shane Forde, and Clodagh Higgins (Frank Fahy sent apologies) didn’t even propose an alternative, despite being briefed about the budget in advance by the Councils’ Finance Department.

The best they could muster was to propose a motion calling for the budget vote to be deferred for a week. It was roundly defeated and treated with the contempt it deserved by the pact.

Terry O’Flaherty (Ind) was unavoidably absent due to a family bereavement. Seoighthe, attending online, did not speak at the meeting, and Donal Lyons (Ind) ended up supporting the revised budget. The opposition was outplayed by the pact.

Pictured: A 3% increase in the Annual Rate on Valuation, agreed on in last week’s budget, was more palatable than the 13% that  Chief Executive of Galway City Council Leonard Cleary had sought.