Council audit for 2024 meets with approval

Confidence in Mayo County Council's management of its financial affairs is returning, according to a local councillor who has been openly critical of the local authority in recent years.

Fine Gael Cllr Peter Flynn told last week's meeting that the findings of an independent auditor's report for 2024 was encouraging. 

"[It would be] foolish to think all is perfect in the garden, but definitely, we are in a better place than a few years ago and I would like to think some trust and confidence is coming back in the way we manage our affairs," he remarked.

The audit report noted that the the council showed a closing surplus of €935,000 for 2024 and had also achieved a surplus in each of the previous seven years, attributing this to the council maintaining strong budget controls. 

Noting that the rates collection in Mayo stands at 94% - up from 93% in 2023 - and amounted to €44 million in 2024, Cllr Flynn said he wanted to recognise the work of Head of Rates Collection, Jackie Denning, and her team in the council, along with the business community, saying: “It is not an easy job and thanks also to the businesses of Mayo who continue to pay the rates on a timely basis, besides the many challenges.” 

Cllr Ger Deere thanked Head of Finance Peter Duggan and his team for their preparation work for the audit, saying: “Everything is not perfect but we are going in the right direction. The ratepayers in this county want to be complimented for the level of taxes they are paying in very tough times, especially given the threat small businesses face from online trade.” 

Meanwhile, Cllr Michael Loftus congratulated management on the audit findings, stating: “Well done on the financial report that shows a balance of €1.2m."

He said it was good that the council seems to be generating more money through rates. However, he felt the council might be reducing spending too much and requested that more investment go into services, saying: “An amount of €1.8m was taken out over the last two years and we are missing out on services because of that.” 

Head of Finance Peter Duggan said he too wanted to thank all the ratepayers in the county that work and engage with the council, saying: “It is a difficult job collecting debt and we have to be able to distinguish between those who don’t pay and those who won’t pay. I would like to think we have got the balance right and any ratepayers who are in difficulty are always advised to come and talk to us.”

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.