Áine Collins (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Some of the difficulties which arose relate to the fact that multinationals such as Tesco were making huge profits. If one lowers the base - by, for example, 2% - it has a huge effect on such companies. The owners of small shops would be obliged to pay €2,500 in rates. This matter has always come down to how one achieves a balance. For example, it could be linked to turnover. Perhaps there is a need to separate them by sector as opposed to the rate base being calculated on the basis of square footage.