Victor Boyhan lauds Parliamentary Budget Office, welcomes local funding
Victor Boyhan spoke in a Budget debate, praising the Parliamentary Budget Office and welcoming increased funding for local government. He supported the Budget allocation of £801.7 million for local government and electoral reform and requested further detail on task force resources.
Parliamentary Budget Office
He commended the Parliamentary Budget Office as a stand-alone, independent body that provides rigorous analysis, figures and impartial commentary on the Budget. He urged colleagues to visit the office's stand in LH2000 and to read its commentary, calling its work critical to democratic accountability.
Local government funding
He welcomed the Budget provision of £801.7 million for local government and electoral reform, noting it represents an increase of £117 million. He highlighted funding for equalisation, the local property tax, fire services and enhanced services for local authorities and said additional money for councils is to be commended because they deliver essential daily services to communities.
Local Government Task Force commitment
He noted that the minister has dedicated funding for the Local Democracy Task Force and welcomed that on-the-record commitment. He acknowledged cross-house involvement in the task force and praised the role played by contributors from all sides.
Request for briefing and next steps
He thanked the Leader for allocating time for the Budget debate and asked for a briefing note on the resources and funding committed to the Local Government Task Force. He indicated he would return to the Parliamentary Budget Office commentary later in the debate as discussions continue.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
I agree with the order of business and I want to thank the Leader for making adequate time today for a debate in the Budget. So I am not going to say too much about it, the Budget just at this point, except I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the very significant and important work of the Parliamentary Budget Office. For those who have not called down to their stand in LH2000 this morning, I would suggest they do so. For those who didn't have an opportunity overnight to read our commentary on the Budget, I think it makes for very interesting reading, which I am going to go into later on in the debate in relation to the Budget. But they are critical and I think that is really healthy and it is great in a democracy that we have a stand-alone, independent body called the Parliamentary Budget Office that can stand over their analysis, their figures, their commentary with great integrity and impartiality. And that is the health of a democracy and it is a really important service for us. And they are ever there to support us, as is the Libyan Researcher, I want to acknowledge that point. I just want to take one or two opportunities to touch on two issues. Well, one really about the local government, because there are so many segments to the Budget and I think it is important that we have the opportunity to take sections by section and we can do that later on or hopefully lead it throughout the next few weeks. But I want to acknowledge the local government funding of £801.7 million is being provided for local government and electoral reform. I think that is positive. It represents, I think this is the important thing, it represents an increase of £117 million. That is a significant change for local government and that is to be acknowledged and I want to support that. And of course it talks about funding the equalisation, the local property tax, fire services, enhanced services for local authorities, greater inclusion and awareness of local government, greater participation and local government and all that is particularly well and great. The Minister of Estate and Planning and Local Government, John Cummins, has done a lot of work in this area. He comes from a huge background in local government, he has huge expertise and he is fiercely committed to it and I also want to acknowledge that. So local authorities, as I say, are at the front line of essential services for our citizens. They impact on the daily lives of our communities and our citizens. So any additional money to local government has to be commended. I want to also acknowledge that the Minister has confirmed in a statement that he has dedicated the funding for the Local Democracy Task Force, which this Shannon played a huge role in all sides of the House and I want to acknowledge your work, Cahillic, in relation to that. So we have here now the Minister on the record, on the government press statements issued this morning, that we will see a significant amount of money provided for in this budget for the implementation of the Local Government Task Force and that is something I am particularly welcome. But we may need more detail and I would ask Leader, given the significance of local government and its interrelationship with the Senate and its electorate here, that if we could have a briefing note, if possible, on the sort of resources and funding for the Local Government Task Force which the Minister has committed to and I want to thank him for that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
