Minutes of Budget 2026 Meeting of Clare County Council

Present

Councillors

Councillors P. Daly, M. Howard, P. Murphy, A. Baker Bashua, T. Guilfoyle, C. Colleran Molloy, P. Hayes, A. O’Callaghan, P. Burke, T. O’Brien, C. Ryan, J. Crowe, P. O’Gorman, M. Begley, T. Mulcahy, B. Slattery, J. Garrihy, S. Talty, J. Killeen, D. Gould, R. McInerney, I. Lynch, G. Keating, M. Shannon.

Officials

• Gordon Daly, Chief Executive.
• John Corry, Meetings Administrator.
• Aoife Coote, Assistant Staff Officer.
• Noeleen Fitzgerald, Director of Finance, Investment & Enterprise.
• Trina Rynne, Financial Accountant.
• Ann Reynolds, Director of People & Culture, Corporate Services & Governance, ICT & Digital Services.
• Carmel Kirby, Director of Planning & Economic Development.
• Siobhan McNulty, Director of Tourism, Festivals, Libraries & Cultural Services.
• Alan Farrell, Director of Housing Delivery, Infrastructure Provision & Land Activation.
• Jason Murphy, Director of Planning, Economic, Rural & Community Development.

 

Present via MS Teams:

Cllrs. T. O’Callaghan, D. Griffin, R. Hartigan, J. Ryan 

Presiding

 

The Cathaoirleach, Cllr. P. Murphy presided.
The Cathaoirleach extended a vote of sympathy to the Carey family on the passing of former T.D. and Minister of State, Donal Carey. The Cathaoirleach proposed a minute’s silence as a mark of respect to the late Mr. Carey.

 

The Cathaoirleach outlined the purpose of the meeting:

 

• Consider the Chief Executive’s Draft Budget of Clare County Council for the year ending 31st December 2026.

 

• Consider the Chief Executive’s Report on the abatement of commercial rates on vacant properties for the year ending 31st December 2026 – Section 9.

 

• Consider the Chief Executive’s Report on the waiver of commercial rates on properties for the year ending 31st December 2026 – Section 15.

 

• Consider the Capital Programme 2026-2028 in accordance with Section 135 (2) of the Local Government Act, 2001, as amended by the Local Government Reform Act, 2014.

 

• Adopt the five resolutions for the adoption of the budget, the annual rate on valuation, the abatement of rates on vacant property and associated draft budget 2026 grant schemes.

 

 

The Cathaoirleach called on the Chief Executive, Gordon Daly, to introduce Budget 2026. 

 Mr. Daly noted it is a significant milestone for the Council as it is the first time the revenue budget will exceed €200 million and that expenditure on this scale enables the Council to continue to strengthen the provision of local services, accelerate housing delivery, and increase investment in infrastructure – all of which are priorities and key objectives of the local authority.

Mr. Daly stated that this record level of expenditure also reflects the importance of Clare County Council to the local economy, with over 1000 staff, Clare County Council is one of the largest employers in the county and a significant amount of expenditure remains in Clare through the purchase of goods and services, the delivery of capital infrastructure along with salaries and pensions. Mr. Daly further noted that the draft budget reinforces the local authority’s priorities and key objectives as set out during the extensive discussions when he took up the role as Chief Executive last summer and is underpinned by a significant revision to the Council’s organisational structure in October, designed to maximise capacity to deliver for the people of Clare.

 Mr. Daly advised that the main priorities for 2026 are to accelerate all forms of housing delivery and to increase investment in critical infrastructure across the county with over half of the €204 million Revenue Budget being invested in housing, roads, infrastructure, and water services in 2026.  An additional €1 million will be provided for road infrastructure, with a further half a million euro prioritised for housing activation and another half a million euro added to the Housing Grants for the Elderly.

 Mr. Daly noted that in a period of escalating costs, and with a need to maintain and enhance service levels, the local authority have sought to strike the balance between generating more income and reducing expenditure where possible through efficiencies and the Draft Budget is therefore balanced based on efficiencies across expenditure lines and generating additional rates income of €3.5 million. Mr. Daly stated it was important to note that while investment in roads and housing is prioritised, the local authority have resolved not to pass on excessive increases to the SME business community.

 Mr. Daly advised that the commercial rates increase will deliver additional income of approximately €2 million from the energy and utilities sector, with the remaining €1.5 million coming from c.4,000 commercial rates customers. Almost one quarter of the local authority’s income for 2026 will be generated from commercial rates and a further 6% from local property tax. Mr. Daly noted how grateful they are for this support and will continue to strive to deliver value for money for the householders and businesses in the county and noted that support schemes such as the Small and Medium Enterprise Scheme, the Long-Term Vacant Property Incentive Scheme, and the Hospitality Grant Scheme will continue to be available to ratepayers.

 Mr. Daly recognised the work done by the members to identify private investment needs in the county such as increased hotel accommodation, campervan facilities, nursing homes and childcare facilities and he acknowledged the work of the economic SPC in bringing forward a proposed Waiver Scheme for commercial rates to help target investment of this nature.

Mr Daly advised that in line with Section 135 of the Local Government Act the capital investment report for the 3-year period 2026-2028 was presented with the budget. This programme outlines the Council’s proposed capital expenditure across all directorates over the coming years and due to the timing and nature of government grant allocations and the need to identify the capacity to fund or part fund projects from own resources, the capital programme must represent an indicative plan rather than a definite commitment. Mr. Daly stated that it does however reflect the Council’s ambition for significant investment in County Clare.

 Mr. Daly acknowledged that much of the budget discussions held with the elected members in recent weeks centred around the need for increased investment across all areas of responsibility within the local authority and to ensure that the spread of investment is fair and equitable.  To aid this, Mr. Daly agreed to bring forward early next year a more detailed consideration of capital investment priorities noting that this will bring clarity to the level of investment that is being targeted for the remainder of this Council term and beyond.

 In summary, Mr. Daly stated that Clare County Council remains well positioned to deliver on its mandate—providing local services, housing, infrastructure and fostering sustainable growth for the benefit of all communities. He noted that Clare County Council staff, public representatives, and stakeholders are central to this success and the local authority will continue to invest in public services, support the local economy, and enhance the quality of life for everyone who lives, works, visits and invests in Clare.

 Mr. Daly thanked the Director of Finance, Investment and Enterprise, Noeleen Fitzgerald, Trina Rynne and the finance team for their exemplary co-ordination of the budget process and their support in ensuring the timely and comprehensive preparation of the Draft Budget for 2026, he thanked the elected members for their constructive engagement throughout the budget process and their commitment and collaboration as the local authority embarks on another ambitious year for the county.

 Ms. Noeleen Fitzgerald, Director of Finance, Investment and Enterprise addressed the meeting and noted that the format of the meeting was changing this year and that she would give a presentation which would be followed by Q&A with the Directors of Service.

 Ms. Fitzgerald gave a presentation to the members discussing vacancy within the county and outlined the figures associated with vacant properties by Local Electoral Area (LEA). She outlined the Section 15 scheme that the Economic SPC had proposed which offers a reduction in commercial rates over a three-year period on a county wide basis for certain commercially rated premises, established from 2026 onwards.  

 

Ms. Fitzgerald presented details of the revenue expenditure as well as details of the capital expenditure forecast for 2026 – 2028. She outlined details of:

 

• S135 Capital Investment Programme.
• Total proposed 2026 Revenue & Capital Budget of €343m.
• Comparison of revenue expenditure from 2021 to draft budget 2026.
• Analysis of revenue expenditure by division covering:
• Housing Delivery
• Dereliction & compulsory acquisition
• Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant Scheme
• Local and Regional Roads
• Street Cleaning
• Public Lighting and Roads
• Match Funding of Capital infrastructure.
• Insurances expenditure increasing year on year.
• Energy cost increases.
• Planned projects within Parks, Pitches & Open Spaces.
• County Clare Beach Lifeguards.
• Cultural Services which include Clare Libraries and Arts facilities throughout the county.
• Clare County Fire & Rescue Service.

 

 Ms. Fitzgerald noted that the aim of draft budget 2026 is to maintain service levels while addressing inflation, invest in housing activation and local roads, provide match funding on capital works and to cut expenditure lines and generate income.

 

Ms. Fitzgerald noted that the draft budget has been framed with an increase in commercial rates. Ms. Fitzgerald advised that the increase will deliver additional income of c. €2m from the energy and utilities sector and the remaining €1.5m coming from 4,050 commercial rates customers.

Ms. Fitzgerald discussed the Commercial Rates Grant Schemes available:

• Long Term Vacant Property Incentive Scheme
• Hospitality Grant Scheme
• The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Scheme

 

Ms. Fitzgerald concluded by thanking the Cathaoirleach for his ongoing support, the members of the Corporate Policy Group, Strategic Policy Committees and the elected members for the various discussions/meetings at Municipal District level and at county level. She particularly acknowledged the work of her colleagues in Finance in the preparation of this budget.

 

The elected members thanked the Chief Executive, G. Daly, Director of Finance, Investment and Enterprise, N. Fitzgerald, her team in Finance and the Council Executive for their work and support in preparing Budget 2026. The members expressed concern over the match funding requirements and noted that other public bodies get full funding for Capital projects while the local authority only gets 80-90% funding.

The members noted it was evident in the budget the new strategic direction the local authority was taking and stated that the greater the ambition the greater the deficit, but the members agreed that it was positive to see the drive and ambition the local authority has.

The elected members noted the importance of fairness and balance within the budget and while Ennis is the County town it is imperative not to forget the bigger towns around the county also.

 

Questions were raised by the members in relation to:

• The SME Scheme for Commercial Rate payers
• Match funding
• Collection rate for commercial rates
• Commercial rate percentage in neighbouring counties.

 

Noeleen Fitzgerald, Director of Finance, Investment and Enterprise answered all the queries raised by the members. 

 

Resolutions

 

 

Ar moladh Cllr. P. Hayes

Cuidithe ag Cllr. J. Crowe agus glacadh leis

 

1. That pursuant to Section 103 of the Local Government Act 2001 (substituted by Section 58 of the Local Government Reform Act 2014) the Draft Budget 2026 as presented by the Chief Executive is hereby adopted.

 

Cllr. T. Guilfoyle noted that he could not support Budget 2026.

 

 

The Meetings Administrator read out the remaining four resolutions which were adopted by the members:

 

Ar moladh Cllr. C. Colleran Molloy

Cuidithe ag Cllr. G. Keating agus glacadh leis

 

1. That pursuant to Section 3 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019, the Council hereby determine in accordance with the Draft Budget 2026 as presented by the Chief Executive, the Annual Rate on Valuation for the County of 0.2581 set out in Table A.

 

Ar moladh Cllr. P. Burke

Cuidithe ag Cllr. M. Begley agus glacadh leis

 

1. That in accordance with Section 9 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019, as amended, Clare County Council makes a scheme for the abatement of rates due to it by the liable person, or classes of liable persons, in respect of vacant properties. Such a scheme in respect of vacant property will provide for an abatement of rates due to Clare County Council by a liable person for the financial year ending 31 December 2026 as follows:

 

 

Ar moladh Cllr. A. O’Callaghan

Cuidithe ag Cllr. T. O’Brien agus glacadh leis

 

1. In accordance with Section 15 of the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019, as amended, Clare County Council hereby resolves to adopt a scheme for the waiver of commercial rates.

The scheme shall apply on a county-wide basis and shall provide for a reduction in commercial rates payable to Clare County Council by a liable person for the financial year ending 31 December 2026, as follows

 

Proposed Scheme 2026
Year	% Rates Waiver	% Rates Waiver (where derelict site developed)
1	75%	85%
2	50%	60%
3	25%	35%

 

 

Ar moladh Cllr. M. Howard

Cuidithe ag Cllr. S. Talty agus glacadh leis

 

1. The adoption of the following Commercial Rates Incentives Schemes, as outlined in the Chief Executive Report, in accordance with Section 66 of the Local Government Act, 2001, as amended by Section 43 of the Local Government Reform Act, 2014.

• Long Term Vacant Property Incentive Scheme 2026
• The Hospitality 5% Support Scheme 2026
• Small and Medium Business 5% Support Scheme 2026
• that total assistance, in the form of both cash and non-cash payments, to the bodies outlined below is hereby approved:
  • Lahinch Seaworld €161,000
  • Shannon Leisure Centre €164,500
  • Kilkee Waterworld €140,000
  • Glór €270,000

 

The Cathaoirleach thanked the members, Chief Executive, Directors of Service and Director of Finance, Investment and Enterprise and their staff for their co-operation in the preparation and adoption of the Budget for 2026. He also thanked members of the Corporate Policy Group and all members for their input into the Budget process.

 

Conclusion

The meeting then concluded.

Signed: ____________________________
Riarthóir Cruinnithe

Signed: _____________________________
Cathaoirleach

Date:               _____________________________

Page last reviewed: 08/12/25

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