Annual Budget 2012 - pdf - Fingal County Council
Annual Budget 2012 - pdf - Fingal County Council
Annual Budget 2012 - pdf - Fingal County Council
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The agreement was reached following a competitive<br />
sale process involving a number of waste<br />
management companies operating in the private<br />
sector.<br />
The decision to withdraw from the waste service<br />
followed an independent review on the viability<br />
of the service which concluded unequivocally, that<br />
there was no prospect of this service being delivered<br />
by the <strong>Council</strong> on a cost neutral basis in the current<br />
competitive waste services market.<br />
Staff from the waste collection service have now<br />
been redeployed into other areas of our operations<br />
including recycling centres, parks and heritage and<br />
our three Operational divisions.<br />
I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to <strong>Council</strong><br />
staff involved in <strong>Fingal</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Council</strong>’s waste<br />
collection service over the years and to thank them<br />
for their committment and loyalty. I would also like<br />
to thank the many thousands of our citizens who<br />
availed of our service over the years.<br />
Having regard to funding streams available to Local<br />
Authorities, difficult decisions of this nature have to<br />
be taken in order to ensure the future viability of the<br />
<strong>Council</strong> and to continue to maintain core services.<br />
CENSUS 2011<br />
It is worth noting some detail from the 2011 Census.<br />
The population of <strong>Fingal</strong> now stands at 273,051.<br />
This is an increase of 33,059 on the 2006 figures<br />
and constitutes a growth rate of 13.8%, the biggest<br />
numerical growth in population in the country – in<br />
the period 2006 – 2011.<br />
In terms of electoral Divisions <strong>Fingal</strong> has three of<br />
the top ten fast growing small areas. These are<br />
Balbriggan Rural, Blakestown and The Ward. In<br />
population terms, <strong>Fingal</strong> is now the third largest in<br />
the state, after Dublin City and Cork <strong>County</strong> having<br />
superseded South Dublin. In regional terms <strong>Fingal</strong><br />
absorbed 40% of the population increase of the<br />
greater Dublin Area as Dublin City, South Dublin<br />
and Dun Laoghaire–Rathdown all grew by less than<br />
20,000 persons.<br />
This is very positive for the long-term prospects of the<br />
county where the average age of the population will<br />
reduce yet again – the polar opposite of the ageing<br />
population phenomenon in the wider European<br />
context. This brings its own pressures on services<br />
and the need for capital investment in infrastructure<br />
to enable us to turn the tide of economic decline in<br />
all our interests to further develop this exceptional<br />
location for business growth.<br />
3<br />
CORPORATE POLICY GROUP<br />
The Corporate Policy Group discussed the Draft<br />
<strong>Budget</strong> at meetings held on the 14th November<br />
2011 and 12th December 2011.<br />
FIRE SERVICE<br />
By agreement, the Fire Service for the four Dublin<br />
Local Authorities is provided by Dublin City<br />
<strong>Council</strong>. The net cost of the service is shared<br />
between the Authorities having regard to the<br />
following combination of factors:<br />
(a) Population of <strong>Fingal</strong> as percentage of four<br />
Dublin Authorities<br />
(b) Number of households in each Administrative<br />
area<br />
(c) Gross commercial rateable valuation<br />
<strong>Fingal</strong>’s share of the cost of the Fire Service for <strong>2012</strong><br />
is estimated at €17.6m which represents 18.6% of<br />
the overall cost.<br />
The cost of the fire service is still, in my view,<br />
excessive. This is a matter that continues to be<br />
reviewed at Management level within the four Local<br />
Authorities. It is essential that further efficiencies<br />
and cost savings are achieved in relation to this<br />
service going forward.<br />
CAPITAL PROGRAMME<br />
The capital programme brought to the Members<br />
at the <strong>Council</strong> Meeting on the 10th October 2011<br />
contains 148 individual projects with an estimated<br />
expenditure of €155m. Project commencement in<br />
each case is dependent on funding being available.<br />
Our capacity to fund capital projects from our own<br />
resources has obviously diminished extensively<br />
due to the significant reduction in development<br />
levy income. Nevertheless, there are many major<br />
infrastructural projects that are coming on stream<br />
including additional integrated community facilities,<br />
development at Malahide Castle and the major N2/<br />
N3 link road development.<br />
It was noted with regret that national government has<br />
judged it not possible to secure funding for the Metro<br />
North project in the current uncertain economic<br />
climate, deciding instead to defer its decision on the<br />
project in the short term. Nonetheless full Planning<br />
Consent in the form of the Railway Order has been<br />
secured for the project. It remains a sustainable<br />
proposition that will provide economic return on<br />
investment – indeed population projections, surplus<br />
to and not included in the business case for Metro,