Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
834. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will indicate that community childcare providers, which operate on a not for profit basis and which are clearly commercial enterprises and would not be sustainable to continue their operation without Exchequer funding are exempt from the application of commercial rates by local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17202/13]
View answerLocal authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Act 2001. With regard to the application of rates to childcare facilities, where childcare provision is within a community facility operating in a non-profit capacity, commercial rates do not generally apply.
The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local authority. The annual rate on valuation (ARV), which is applied to the valuation of each property, determined by the Valuation Office, to obtain the amount payable in rates is decided by the elected members of each local authority in the annual budget and its determination is a reserved function.
However, it is a matter for the Commissioner of Valuation to decide whether or not a property is rateable and on what basis it is placed on the valuation list. The Valuation Office comes under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
