I raise the issue of the Local Government Fund and how it is distributed to the local authorities. In particular, I raise the issue of Galway County Council, which is so poorly funded it is on life support at present. It is overwhelmed with work and does not have the resources to carry it out. As a result, services will be affected. Geographically, it is the second largest county in Ireland with a diverse range of services from the islands to the Gaeltacht and to the east, in my constituency. There has been talk of the amalgamation of Galway City Council and Galway County Council. The independent committee that was put in place cited two issues that needed to be sorted out, the first of which was the funding of Galway County Council. There is no transparent mechanism within the Department to show the reason the fund is so low for that county. The matrix by which it is done is not transparent. Nobody within the Department can explain it. I ask the Taoiseach to take it on board and to let me know.

I thank the Deputy for raising that issue. His colleagues have raised it a number of times previously. There is an issue to be examined. I will certainly talk to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, about it in terms of the application of the Local Government Fund in respect of Galway city and Galway county.