Section 48, The Local Government Act, 2004

(1) Until and including the financial year ending in 2008,the allocation between local councils of each of the tied grants for devolved services shall be recommended to the Local Government Finance Committee by the Ministry responsible for the function that is the subject of a tied grant, and shall be based on principles of equity. (2) After that period, the allocation of untied grants shall be based on the relative needs of the local councils to provide services for their residents and the relative capacities of the councils to raise revenue.