By Avril Horan

REPEATED underfunding from central government may be deliberately paving the way for an amalgamation of Galway City and County Councils.

That’s according to Cllr Geraldine Donohue (Ind) who said that the situation is “death by a thousand cuts” and argued that a possible “merger is on the table” due to the severe financial squeeze.

“They have cut off our supply hoping for a merger,” she said.

“I have had my doubts all along. I believe that a merger is on the table. We are not seeing any money.

“The roads are atrocious and that’s only the start of it. We already have a Joint Retail Strategy – and the question must be asked – what else are we joining?”

Cllr Donohue said the size and scale of the county demands two standalone local authorities, warning that Galway cannot be adequately served by a merged structure.

She said she intends to raise the issue directly with Oireachtas members.

However, Fine Gael Cllr Jimmy McClearn moved quickly to shut down any suggestion of amalgamation, branding the issue a “non-event.”

“There is no question of amalgamation,” he said.

“Could we get a grip? We are the ones dragging this back onto the agenda.”

The heated exchange came as councillors reacted to a 2019 report by Dr Mary Murphy of Maynooth University, which found that just 8 per cent of public spending in Ireland occurs at local government level – compared with an EU average of 23 per cent.

Independent Cllr Karey McHugh Farag described the system as “absolutely ridiculous,” and said that councils have almost no financial autonomy.

“The lion’s share of the budget is decided by Departments in Dublin,” she said.

“We’re stuck on a carousel of competitive bidding, chasing the same pot and being offered little more than lip service.”

Concerns about this process came to the fore as the council prepares its first bid for government funding to address critical infrastructure deficits.

Chief Executive Liam Conneally said a successful application would unlock land for up to 6,000 new homes, placing the council “at the forefront” of residential supply.

“If we can clear those infrastructure blockages, we will have more than sufficient lands,” he said.

“But success in this funding call is absolutely critical.”

Independent Ireland Cllr Shaun Cunniffe slammed the ineffectiveness of the bidding process, arguing that it was unacceptable that councils must bid for essential infrastructure during a national housing emergency.

“We are screaming out for affordable housing,” he said.

“This was announced in November and here we are, three months later, only starting the process. We are sinking deeper into crisis while nothing happens.”

Fianna Fáil Cllr Mary Hoade called for urgent reform of the equalisation fund as repeated correspondence with government departments has yielded no results.

“We could wallpaper a wall with the documentation we’ve sent,” she said.

“A county of this size is simply not being funded properly. We can’t go on like this.”

Chief Executive Liam Conneally confirmed he will once again write to the Department of Finance, acknowledging the long-running impasse.

“We haven’t cracked the nut,” he said. “There needs to be senior political intervention at this point.”

Councillors agreed to seek a formal meeting with Oireachtas members, amid further debate over representation, as frustration with the current funding model reached boiling point.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.

Pictured: Claim…Cllr Geraldine Donohue.