Waterford Council's net assets increase to €2.4bn
Principal Local Government auditor, James Moran wrote that "significant investment in the North Quays, Housing and URDF will continue in 2024".
The net assets of Waterford City and County Council have increased to €2.4 billion following a €116 million increase in assets by the end of 2024.
The steep rise in the council's net assets has been precipitated by "an improvement in bank and debitor balances arising from capital projects", according to an audit of Waterford City and County Council's annual financial report.
Part of the rise can be attributed to significant expenditure on work-in-progress projects, which more than doubled in 2024 to €153.9 million, the report notes. The increase is made up of €86 million in expenditure on the North Quays project, housing investments worth €57 million, and the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) expenditure of €5.6 million.
In the statutory local government auditor’s report by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Principal Local Government auditor, James Moran wrote that "significant investment in the North Quays, Housing and URDF will continue in 2024".
The Council's fixed assets also rose by €32.8 million to a total of €2,311 million "mainly due to [the] development of social housing stock and amenities", while asset disposals amounted to more than €7.5 million due to the sale of housing stock via tenant purchase sales and the use of council land to build housing.
Overall, the City and County Council recorded a surplus of €1.4 million as part of "significant efforts in recent years to eliminate its long-standing deficit on the general reserve", the auditor notes, "The maintenance of a surplus and a balanced revenue account must remain a key objective of management."
The auditor noted that "work remains in completing a reconciliation of subsidiary fixed asset records to the General Ledger and [Annual Financial Statements" due to the transfer of council assets to subsidiaries or other government agencies.
These transfers, such as the transfer of heritage assets of €4.47 million to the Waterford Treasures Museum acting as the Granary Ltd, or the "need to resource the transfer of residual water treatment assets to Uisce Éireann" were described as "extensive" in nature and it was noted that this work "will likely span several years".
