Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
344. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider extending the local authority rates waiver to a minimum of 12 months for tourism businesses. [23476/20]
View answerThe levying and collection of rates are legally matters for each individual local authority. Local authorities have a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes. An initial three-month waiver of rates for businesses forced to close business due to COVID-19, was announced in early May. In order to enhance the supports available for enterprise, and in recognition of the fact that not only were many ratepayers forced to close business due to the public health requirements, but many that remained open suffered significant reductions in turnover, the waiver has been extended from three to six months, until 27 September 2020. The categories of eligible enterprise have also been expanded somewhat.
A 100% waiver will be applied to all businesses, for the six-month period to 27 September, with the exception of a small number of categories. The rationale for the exclusion of certain categories of ratepayers is that their operations were not as severely impacted by the pandemic, coupled with the need to direct resources appropriately. To support both the local government sector and the ratepayers impacted, €600m has been allocated by Government to fund the cost of a waiver of commercial rates for six months for eligible businesses, which will take the form of a credit in lieu of rates.
In terms of extending the existing waiver beyond six months, there is no proposal at this stage to extend the waiver. Indeed, any extension would need to be considered in the context of the public health measures in place and the overall suite of business support measures made available by Government to date.
