Galway Bay fm newsroom - Minister for Local Government Peter Burke has confirmed he currently has "no plans" to meet with Galway County Council over a well-publicised funding shortfall.
It follows the recent rejection of local area budgets by councillors in all 5 of Galway's municipal districts, with an argument that the situation cannot be allowed to continue.
It's been argued over the past decade that Galway County Council is severely underfunded per capita when compared to counties of similar size like Cork, Mayo or Donegal.
The result of which, local politicians argue, is that services are at breaking point, essential works are not being done, the road network is in a poor state, and staff are struggling with workloads.
Councillors will vote on the overall local authority budget at the end of this month, and there's a strong chance they will take the unprecedented step of rejecting the overall budget of almost €40m.
This could see the council dissolved and force the Government to intervene to takeover the functions normally reserved for councillors.
Galway East Deputy Sean Canney has requested that Minister Peter Burke meet with the council executive to discuss the funding issues and explore how the local authority might be put on a fairer footing going forward.
However, in a written response, Minister Burke says he currently has "no plans" to meet with the executive at this time - but will consider such a meeting if it is directly requested.
