Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
948. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if modifications can be made in the legislation underpinning local rates, so that concessions could be made to businesses which suffer long and sustained loss of business due to a major infrastructural project, such as in a case (details supplied). [38925/23]
View answerLocal authorities are required by legislation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the independent Tailte Éireann under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2020. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local authority. The annual rate on valuation (ARV) is decided by the elected members of each local authority in the annual budget and its determination is a reserved function. The ARV is applied to the valuation for each property determined by Tailte Éireann to calculate the amount of commercial rates payable. Local authorities work closely with ratepayers experiencing difficulties with the payment of commercial rates. In this regard, local authorities may facilitate the payment of commercial rates by instalments, and work with businesses to put in place flexible payment options.
The Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 was passed by the Oireachtas and enacted on 11 July 2019. Certain provisions of the Act relating to commercial rates were commenced shortly after enactment. Amendments are required to address key technical issues in the Act prior to the commencement of the remaining provisions. The Government approved for these amendments to be included in the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023. That Bill has recently passed Committee stage in the Dáil. The intention is that the Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 (including these amendments) will be in operation for the administration of commercial rates for 2024.
Once commenced, the Act will further facilitate flexible approaches, provided ratepayers engage with the local authority concerned. Importantly, the Act also provides for new rates vacancy abatement and rates alleviation schemes, to be decided by local authority members in order to promote national and/or local policy objectives. My Department is currently preparing supporting regulations and working with local authorities on implementation with a view to commencing these provisions once the Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill is enacted. These new provisions will add to the suite of options already available to local authorities to support local businesses and ratepayers.
