MKMD reviews draft budget with boosts for housing grants
Westmeath Council Reviews 2026 Draft Budget with Boosts for Housing Grants, Tourism and Arts
Westmeath County Council’s 2026 draft General Municipal Allocation (GMA) budget came before councillors on Monday of last week, ahead of next Monday’s full budget meeting.
Chief Financial Officer Michael Hand, presenting the draft on behalf of the Chief Executive, explained that the GMA represented the discretionary portion of the local authority’s overall budget, enabling councillors in Athlone–Moate and Mullingar–Kinnegad to fund local priorities such as community grants, festivals and environmental initiatives.
“The total amount of the GMA provided should be distributed in a manner that is fair and equitable,” Mr Hand explained. “The Chief Executive must ensure every district receives a transparent and just allocation while recognising its population and local needs.”
He confirmed that the draft plan showed an overall increase of €536,000, or 12%, for 2026, with €250,000 — €125,000 per municipal district — remaining unallocated for councillors to decide upon at a later meeting.
Housing grants and local projects receive key increases
Among the most significant proposals was an increase in housing adaptation grants from €2.65 million to €3.128 million, reflecting a 30% rise in government funding for 2026. “That requires a matching contribution from Westmeath County Council,” Mr Hand said, noting that the executive team had agreed to meet the additional costs evenly across both districts.
Other increases include Destination Athlone’s allocation rising from €27,500 to €35,000, bringing it into line with Marketing Mullingar, and Town Twinning doubling to €30,000 across the two districts. Funding for the Arts Development Plan rises by €8,000, while Arts Facilities funding increases by €27,500, divided among the Mullingar Arts Centre (€10,000), the Dean Crowe Theatre (€10,000), Tuar Ard (€5,000) and the Mullingar Variety Group (€2,500).
Procedural changes introduced in 2016, Mr Hand reminded members, mean that grants under headings such as Christmas Lights, Festivals and Events, Community Development, and Arts Development remain subject to municipal district approval.
Strong councillor backing for local investment
Cllr Niall Gaffney welcomed the boost for housing grants, seeking clarity on whether it covered housing adaptation projects and noting “the real impact it will have for people across the district.”
Cllr David Jones commended the increases for marketing initiatives but urged that attention also turn toward rural heritage locations: “I feel some money should be allocated to Fore and all rural area with great historical significance,” he said, citing also Delvin, with its castle built by Hugh de Lacey.
Cllr Denis Leonard echoed those sentiments, describing the rural Christmas Lights allocation as “a game changer” for smaller towns. He also called for a joint marketing push across east Westmeath, encompassing settlements such as Rochfortbridge, Milltownpass, Kinnegad, Delvin, Fore and Castlepollard. “There’s lots of woodland walks; loads of open areas; there's a load of ecclesiastical monuments, there's a load of old railway stations, there's many old churches,” he said.
Supporting that idea, Cllr Aoife Davitt praised the overall balance of the allocations, saying it was encouraging to see more funding flow directly to communities. She also highlighted the value of supporting arts programmes in schools and welcomed the expanded twinning budget, “which has doubled even beyond expectations.”
Concerns about festivals and tourism spending
Cllr Ken Glynn described the increase in housing grants as “hugely important,” particularly given the strain that has meant P2 and P3 housing adaption projects are “practically on hold at the moment”.
Turning to Athlone’s allocation for the European Festival, he asked whether other local festivals such as Mullingar’s Winterfest were also reflected in the GMA.
Cllr Bill Collentine joined other members in welcoming housing investment but questioned whether enough was being reserved for festivals and events. “Local chambers and voluntary groups put massive work into Winterfest and street markets,” he said. “We should be looking at ways to make that bigger and better.”
Cllr Mick Dollard raised the issue of the council’s own funding contribution toward housing adaptation grants, noting that while the local share had dropped from 20% to 15%, it still represented a major annual cost on council coffers. “Is there any chance it would be reduced to 10%?” he asked.
Council response and clarification
Responding to members, Mr Hand confirmed that the housing grant increase amounted to €230,000 per district.
“There was an agreement in place following the increase in the Local Property Tax last year that there would be €150,000 in each district for P3s, so that will still stand, so the €220,000 will most likely be for P1s and P2s,” he stated.
He also clarified that Athlone’s €20,000 festival allocation applied to the long-running European Festival, while Winterfest was funded locally within the festivals and events programme.
Director of services Deirdre Reilly added that new tourism initiatives were already in progress, citing the success of the “Home of Halloween” project as a model for future rural development.
She said Fáilte Ireland funding would continue to support such ventures, with the council’s own Business Fund also available to aid community-led tourism and enterprise projects.
Ms Reilly confirmed that €40,000 was being invested in Mullingar’s ice rink through Winterfest, including €10,000 from the festivals and events budget. Combined with other contributions, she said local investment in the event exceeded €60,000.
Asked about Athlone’s European Festival provision, she said, “It’s something we can certainly look at again for 2027 if members wish to see it continued under the wider festivals and events umbrella.”