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Commercial Rates

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 October 2020

Tuesday, 13 October 2020

Questions (173, 183)

Thomas Gould

Question:

173. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans to extend the commercial rates waiver for the hospitality sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30201/20]

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Holly Cairns

Question:

183. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if additional funding will be provided to local authorities to enable them to suspend rates of payments for SMEs impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30335/20]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 173 and 183 together.

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 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 was extended to six months, running until 27 September 2020. The categories of eligible enterprise were also expanded somewhat. A 100% waiver was applied to all businesses with the exception of a small number of categories. The rationale for the exclusion of certain categories of ratepayers was 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 the waiver, which took the form of a credit in lieu of rates.

By ensuring that the vast majority of businesses are eligible for the waiver, the measure supports the SME sector, including those companies that had to close and those businesses that remained open but were severely impacted by Covid-19 restrictions.

When the six-month waiver was announced, I agreed that the potential for the waiver to extend beyond end September should be kept under review, regarding the continuing impact of the pandemic on businesses and the reopening of society. The possible extension of the commercial rates waiver has been the subject of discussions between myself and the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform in recent days. I am pleased to confirm that Government is extending the waiver for a further 3 months, to end December, an investment of a further €300m to ensure local authorities have resources available while simultaneously supporting businesses impacted by this pandemic. Further details will be available from my Department in the coming days.

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