Bulk of Wexford council’s €183m budget for 2026 will be spent on housing, but lack of roads funding still a concern
Wexford PeopleWexford County Council has an overall budget of €183.74m for 2026, the majority of which will be spent on housing and roads across the county.
The figure represents an increase of €8.3m on last year’s budget (€175,427,695) and is funded by government grants, local property tax (LPT), rates, and goods and services which include rents from social housing tenants.
The biggest chunk of the 2026 budget will be spent on housing (€54,249,858) which includes over €10m on the maintenance and improvement of local authority houses and more than €22m on the rental accommodation scheme (RAS) and leasing programme. A further €43,224,813 will be spent by Wexford County Council (WCC) on road transport and safety in 2026 with €31.5m of that going towards local road maintenance.
€22.6m of the budget will go on development management which includes €9.3m on economic development and promotion; €21.4m will be spent on environmental services including €7.8m on fire services and €2.4m on street cleaning; there will be €13.6m spent on recreation and amenity in the county including €6.2m on the operation of library and archival services; almost €11m will be spent on water services which includes €2.4m on waste water treatment and €2.6m on the administration of group and private installations; just over €3m will be going towards agriculture, education, health and welfare which includes €1.7m on the operation of piers and harbours in the county; lastly there will be €14.4m spent on miscellaneous services with the bulk (€7m) going on the administration of rates.
In terms of how WCC acquires its budget to spend across the county, this can be broken down into four main sections: government grants (€85,722,367), goods and services (€36,542,786), LPT (€18,111,488), and rates income (€43,367,312).
The Department of Housing accounts for the bulk of the grants, contributing €54,932,653 to WCC’s coffers. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) will provide a further €23,913,179 to the council next year. The income from goods and services can mostly be attributed to rents from social houses (€22,323,957) and parking fines and charges (€2.95m)
Following a vote earlier this year, LPT in Co Wexford remained at 15 pc which accounts for over €18m of the council’s budget for next year.
Praising director of finances Lynda Lacey and her team for their work in compiling the budget, chief executive of WCC, Eddie Taaffe, said balancing the books continues to “present challenges year on year” due to “stretched expenditure and stressed income”
And he paid particular attention to the lack of funding for the county’s roads which continues to fall well short of estimated requirements.
“As a council, we have called for increased government funding for this area for many years but this does not seem to be forthcoming. In view of this, we will need to recognise and accept that the critical additional funding required will have to come from our own resources. However, in accepting this it will require a serious review of our existing commitments and a reallocation from non-vital budgets lines and /or increase in local income.”
However, the outlook for housing in the county is much more positive according to Mr Taaffe.
“The council will continue to advance our social capital housing programme in 2026 and to exceed the targets set by the department,” he said. “In 2026, the council will continue to advance the provision of new affordable houses for those who cannot afford private housing themselves and will also extend the policy to seek to provide affordable sites in relevant towns and villages throughout the county.”
On a broader scale, the chief executive said that despite "ongoing financial challenges” the council would continue to develop Wexford as a county of “choice, for investment, tourism, and a place to call home”.
"The council is committed to leading the county’s development and will work tirelessly to ensure the county continues to recover from this period of global instability and uncertainty,” he added.