Mayo County Council adopts its €220 million budget for 2026

The annual budget for Mayo County Council was agreed by councillors at a meeting this morning, but only after attaching a series of amendments including increased funding for community promotion, planning enforcement and councillors’ discretionary spending were amended.

Proposing the amendments at the close of the meeting, Fianna Fáil Councillor Damian Ryan said the council “needs more resources to do much more” and argued that if balanced regional development is genuinely a national priority, then local authorities must receive stronger financial backing from government.

He said Local Property Tax allocations vary widely between counties and cannot be compared “like for like”, adding that while strategies are important, the immediate task facing councillors was to adopt a workable budget for the year ahead.

A major amendment at the close of the meeting increased the provision for community promotion from €35,000 to €100,000, reflecting what Councillor described as the “number of small asks” raised throughout the meeting.

To offset this, he proposed a €65,000 reduction in the Pathfinder loan charges allocation.

On the planning front, councillors agreed that €100,000 of the previously proposed increase for the planning office would be ring-fenced specifically for planning enforcement, bringing the enforcement allocation from €263,000 to €363,000.

The council was also asked to provide reports at council meetings to improve oversight and transparency.

Another amendment centred on members’ resources.

Councillors’ discretionary funding or GMA, which several elected members bemoaned throughout the meeting had not increased in over a decade, will rise from €38,500 to €50,000, with Ryan noting that members work closely with district engineers and need resources that reflect rising costs.

“This money will not be going straight to us but will then be given to the communities”, Councillor Michael Loftus argued.

Operational issues were also addressed.

The amendments call for a plan to improve the delivery of verge trimming, cutting of overhanging trees and the rollout of the public lighting retrofit programme, with a review scheduled for 12 January to determine how best to speed up delivery in the new year.

The amendments were formally seconded by Fine Gael Councillor Peter Flynn, who said he “heartily agreed” with the package and welcomed the increased control and flexibility it would give elected members.

He said the additional funding was urgently needed to give more control to councillors and for footpaths and local roads across the county.

Other amendments proposed by Councillor Ger Deere and adopted included continued council support for the Rehab Mayo People of the Year Awards held in conjunction with The Connaught Telegraph, €15,000 funding for the Davitt Museum, and €10,000 for Aglish Graveyard in Castlebar.

With the amendments accepted, the budget was formally adopted by Cathaoirleach Councillor Sean Carey for the year ahead.