Budget of €130m adopted by county council for 2026

A budget of €129.4m has been adopted by the members of Westmeath County Council for 2026. The €129m is made up of €65.4m in state grants, €14.3m from the Local Property Tax, €20.5m from rates and the final €29.2m from other sources

The General Annual Rate on Valuation (ARV) – used to calculate commercial rates bills – has been set at 0.2134, which is lower than neighbouring counties: Longford (0.2647), Roscommon (0.2362), Laois (0.2217) and Offaly (0.2198).

That ARV translates to a rates increase of 10% over last year – but council members were informed by chief executive Barry Kehoe that an increase in the Commercial Rates Grants Scheme for businesses with annual commercial rates bills under €5,500 means that 80% of businesses will see their rates go down slightly.

The council emphasised that larger businesses will contribute more next year, but said these additional revenues are required to support the county’s strategic infrastructure programme.

The budget figures include the increased revenue coming from the council’s earlier decision to increase the Local Property Tax (LPT) by 15 per cent for 2026, which will bring the authority’s LPT allocation to €14.33 million, which includes €5.72 million in equalisation funding due to the county’s below-baseline LPT yield.

Members were informed that the council continues to rely heavily on central government for housing, roads and community programme funding, and the budget notes that “sustained government support” is essential given the scale of national policy commitments.

Director of finance, Michael Hand, said that the council’s budget has risen by €43.2m in the last five years and that the overall increase in the budget for 2026 is of €12.2m over last year’s figure of €117.6m, the bulk of which is in housing recreational and amenity services, with increased provisions for future capital spend in the miscellaneous services divisions.

Housing

Housing remains the single largest pressure facing the authority, accounting for €38m in planned spend next year. 4,232 households in Westmeath currently receive some form of social housing support, whether direct provision, Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), RAS and Leasing schemes, and housing loans.

The council also administer housing grants for older people and those with disabilities.

Mr Kehoe told the meeting that the council are on track to deliver 213 new social homes in 2025, with another 351 under construction, but stressed that “much more needs to be done” to meet Westmeath’s share of the government’s new Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025–2030 strategy. The policy aims to produce 300,000 homes nationwide by 2030, including 72,000 social units.

Members were informed that the cost of delivering social housing has risen substantially, with typical construction costs increasing by approximately 40-50% since 2018. Mr Hand told members that rental income is budgeted to increase by 12.7 per cent, based on the current average rent of €86 per week together with the implementation of a rent review in 2026.

He also said that the council has budgeted for 1,052 properties being rented from the private sector. “We currently make an average weekly payment to the landlord of €222 and charge an average weekly payment to the tenant of €76,” he stated, explaining that this results in a direct net cost to the state of €146 per week.

Other expenditure

Transport and roads account for €29.2m in expenditure next year, with national and regional road maintenance continuing to absorb a significant share of the budget. Over €12.7m is earmarked for local road reconstruction, surface dressing and improvement works. TII allocations of €17.8m support the county’s 2026 roads programme, while car parking income is expected to generate €1.98m.

Recreation and amenity services (€15.2m) and environmental services (€13m) are also substantial areas of spend. The executive highlighted ongoing development of parks in Kinnegad, Castlepollard and Athlone, and the progression of the Mullingar regional sports centre through the planning process. A €700,000 provision is included for strategic property acquisition for community and recreational purposes in Athlone, Mullingar and Castlepollard.

Members learned that the council are budgeting for significant payroll pressure in 2026. National Pay Agreements and unwinding of FEMPI will increase payroll costs by an estimated €7.95m, funded through an allocation from the Dept of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The council’s figures also revealed that there are currently 366 former employees in receipt of a pension from the council at a current annual cost of circa €5.324m. The average pension is €14,497 and 269 pensioners are in receipt of pensions of less than €20,000 pa.

Increased funding

Budget 2026 includes enhanced provisions for arts and cultural development, increased funding for Mullingar Arts Centre, the Dean Crowe Theatre, and other cultural facilities. The budget also provides for development of the Mullingar regional sports complex and expanded library services including the new Kinnegad Community Library and Education and Training Centre.

The council continue to invest in the tourism offering including improvements at Belvedere and enhancements to Athlone Castle to grow the contribution of tourism to the economy.

A recent achievement is agreement with the HSE to acquire 35 acres in Robinstown for recreational use.

The budget provides for additional staff positions across many departments including to strengthen planning enforcement, expand library services, support regeneration projects, enhance transportation infrastructure and improve corporate services.