Will provision be made for the continuation of compensation for local authorities in Longford and Offaly for the loss of commercial rates revenue as a result of the escalation of decarbonisation and the closure of power plants? The Loughrea power station in County Longford was the largest rate payer in the county at €1.2 million annually. That compares dramatically with the average rate bill locally which is just €1,800. The report from the Just Transition Commissioner, Mr. Kieran Mulvey, was very specific on this point. He was adamant that it would be unfair if provision was not made centrally to compensate local authorities for such a significant loss in revenue, especially as the planned closure was brought forward from the original planned date of 2027. Bringing forward the closure decision has undoubtedly posed large financial challenges for Longford County Council, which is already operating in a very challenging socioeconomic environment.

I accept the bona fides of Deputy Flaherty on this issue of the impact of just transition on commercial rates in Longford and Offaly county councils. The Lanesborough plant in Longford accounted for 15% of the rates base while in Offaly the Edenderry and Shannonbridge plants together accounted for almost 25% of the local rates base. In recognition of this, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, provided compensatory funding in 2021 equivalent to 100% of the rates that would otherwise have been due, with €1.4 million allocated to Longford and €3.3 million to Offaly. It was intended to be a once-off allocation to support the two authorities. However, recognising the challenges in 2021, during which local authorities continued to support the national effort to combat Covid-19 and the reopening of society while delivering key services to the public, compensatory funding is now again under consideration for 2022 as part of the Estimates process. I will relay what the Deputy said to the Minister in respect of this key issue.