Kerry County Council finished last year with a modest positive financial outturn.
That’s according to the council’s Head of Finance, Angela McAllen, who presented this year’s draft financial statement at the recent council meeting.
According to the draft statement, the council posted an overall surplus of over €14.7 million for 2021, an increase of almost €10 million on last year’s surplus.
The council took in almost €15 million in Local Property Tax in revenue income, and over €60 million in grants and Local Property Tax in capital income.
Almost half of the council’s capital expenditure for 2021 was used for housing and building, and another third was spent on roads, transportation and safety.
Ms McAllen wrote in the statement that it’s expected the collection of commercial rates will be extremely challenging in 2022 compared to the pre-COVID economy, due to challenges faced by businesses.
The council still took in over €47.5 million in rates in 2021.
Ms McAllen says the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact the Council’s finances over the course of 2021.
She adds the financial outlook for 2022 both locally and globally remains uncertain due to the pandemic and the impact of inflation on expenditure programmes.
The pensions liability for Kerry County Council was significant in 2021, according to the statement, and will continue to be due to the profile of its workforce.
Despite the challenges noted, Ms McAllen says the council remains fully committed to projects driving the strategic recovery of the economy.
