Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 July 2022
383. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider allowing commercial rates to be collected by the Revenue Commissioners to improve efficiency. [37107/22]
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 pursuant to the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local authority, as are the costs of collection.
Commercial rates form an important element of the funding of all local authorities. However, the legislative basis for the levying of rates is spread over a number of enactments, some dating back to the 19th century. The Government recognised the need to modernise the collection of rates and the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 was passed by the Oireachtas and enacted on 11 July 2019.
It had been intended that the bulk of the provisions of the Act would be operational for the 2021 local authority budget cycle, in November 2020. However, preparations have been delayed due to the impact of the COVID crisis and work on the government funded rates waivers. While plans to commence the legislation were delayed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is intended to advance this work this year.
The Debt Management Project Implementation Board, on which my Department was represented, was established by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in February 2015, to progress the recommendations of the Debt Management Review, which was published in 2014. The Project Implementation Board concluded its work in 2016 and recommended that a Central Collection Agency was not justified at that time. This was due to the fact that the improvements which had been made by the Public Sector Bodies (PSBs) and the targets set for those PSBs for the period to 2018 were close to those that might be expected of a Central Collection Agency.
Local authorities have made significant strides in recent years to improve efficiency in rates collection. The average national rates collection percentage increased each year from 2013 to 2019. The percentage of rates collected in 2019 was 89%. Rates collection figures for 2020, at 79%, are impacted by COVID-19. Following the conclusion of the rates waiver schemes in 2020, 2021 and Q1 2022 rates collection is being monitored by local authorities to assess the ongoing impact of COVID-19.
My Department also continues to monitor the collection of rates by the Local Government sector. There are no current plans to significantly alter the nature of rates collection.
