Meath County Council adopts Budget for 2026, the largest in its history with planned expenditure of €258 million

Meath County Council has adopted its Budget for 2026, which provides for expenditure of over €258 million on local public services, an increase of over €26m (or 11.5 per cent) on the 2025 package.

Councillors voted to adopt the annual budget for 2026 at a meeting on Monday, 24th November, and it is the first time the council’s budget has exceeded €250m.

Since 2019, the Annual Budget has increased by 108 per cent, which the council says has brought new services, enhanced service levels and provided additional human and financial resources in critical and emerging areas.

In order to safeguard the quality and sustainability of these public services, the council's 2026 Annual Budget includes a 10 per cent increase in commercial rates, the first such rate increase since 2008 when the council's budget was just €107m.

Smaller ratepayers, businesses with commercial rates below €20,000, will be exempt.

It's understood that the additional revenue generated will be set aside specifically for urban and rural regeneration projects—ensuring that towns, villages, and communities across Meath benefit directly from enhanced infrastructure, public spaces, and economic opportunities, as well as providing a number of additional road safety measures to keep all road users within the county safe.

Over 31 per cent of the budget (over €80m) has been allocated to Housing services. This allocation is to fund land bank acquisitions for the purposes of securing future delivery, the administration of the Council’s homeless service, and maintaining and improving local authority housing units.

In addition to this, over €69m (27 per cent of the budget) has been allocated to Road Safety and Transport, for road maintenance, investment in rural roads, targeted road safety measures, among many other initiatives.

The 2026 budget has allocated €4,798,509 for Economic Development, an increase of €243,411 on last year’s budget.

Chief Executive of Meath County Council Kieran Kehoe said: "At Meath County Council, we are always looking ahead so that we can continue to achieve our vision to Make Meath Even Better.

“This budget allows us to continue to innovate, collaborate and lead in the provision of initiatives, services, and infrastructure that will enhance the quality of life of all our residents, and support the ongoing growth and wellbeing of our communities.”

Director of Services for Finance at Meath County Council Fiona Lawless said: "The decision to propose a rate increase for the first time since 2008 was not taken lightly but reflects the realities of the world we live in at the moment as we continue to navigate through unprecedented challenges and international instability.

"This increase is not about today; it is about safeguarding Meath’s future, and this is why we took the additional decision of ensuring our smaller businesses with commercial rates below €20,000 are unaffected by the rate increase. We want growth that is sustainable so that we can provide all the services our expanding population deserves."

An Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council, Cllr Wayne Harding said: "I am confident this budget will help ensure the strategic objectives set out in our five-year Corporate Plan will continue to be worked towards, while ensuring our county remains a vibrant place to live, work in, and visit."

Social Democrat Cllr Ronan Moore voted in favour of the Budget commending it for being ‘both prudent and ambitious, proactive and progressive’.

“What we are spending, we are taking in. But it is also an ambitious budget that has brought forward an increase in its commercial rates by 10 per cent, while protecting any ratepayers whose bill is €20,000 or less. This thus asks those who can pay, to pay that little more; and protects the smaller rate payers, whether that be our newly established coffee shops or our long-standing family run high street hardwares

“This should net an additional €4.6m, a significant boost to our budget while keeping Meath as one of thee most competitive counties in terms of commercial rates in the country.

Fine Gael Cllr Sarah Reilly said: “The additional income generated from the rise in business rates will allow us to deliver not what we as councillors want, but what the thousands of people we represent expect and deserve. This budget gives us the capacity to deliver the things that communities across Meath have been crying out for including improved road safety measures and surfaces, stronger, more accessible community facilities in our towns and villages. These are not luxuries. These are basics — and they require funding.”