Dublin councillors approve spending cuts and commercial rates increase

DUBLIN CITY councillors last night approved the council's 2009 budget, which includes a €7.6 million cut in Government funding, despite opposition from Fine Gael and Sinn Féin.

Councillors voted by 28 to 22 votes to support the budget, with all Sinn Féin and Fine Gael councillors present voting against, apart from Fine Gael's Bill Tormey.

All Fianna Fáil and Labour councillors voted in favour, except the newly co-opted Fianna Fáil councillor Sarah Ryan, daughter of MEP Eoin Ryan.

Fine Gael and Sinn Féin said they were voting against the budget because of the almost 7 per cent reduction in the Local Government Fund from the Department of the Environment and the increase of 3.3 per cent in commercial rates.

However, they were also voting against the Fianna Fáil and Labour voting pact which effectively controls the council and the mayoralty of the city. In a joint statement yesterday the parties opposing said it was "up to Labour and Fianna Fáil as the ruling coalition on the council to implement the Government's and Minister John Gormley's cuts".

Lord mayor Eibhlin Byrne (FF) had urged councillors to consider the consequences of voting against the budget.

"This is the best that can be presented in the current economic climate," she said. "Any attempt to go against the budget or to bring down the council will only add to the insecurity that is already in the city."

Speaking on behalf of Fine Gael, Ruairí McGinley said no one in his party was trying to bring down the council. "We are of the view that the rates increase should be less than proposed, 2 per cent could be more appropriate," Mr McGinley said.

One of the main stumbling blocks to the ratification of the budget in previous years - the bin charge - was for all but one councillor not an issue this year as city manager John Tierney has decided not to raise the charge for the first time since its introduction eight years ago.

Independent councillor Joan Collins, who was elected on an anti-bin charge platform, opposed the budget on the basis that bin charges exist.

There were cuts of €330 million in the capital infrastructure budget for the next three years, but the council has not cut services for 2009. However, spending on services will be at the lowest rate in several years. The budget for 2009 spending will be €928.7 million, a rise of just 1.5 per cent.

This year's budget represented an 8 per cent increase on 2007. The council will earn an additional €15 million from the commercial rates increase.