Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I spent about two hours in the Valuation Office a couple of years ago arguing over the rateable valuation of my properties. I found the system to be very strong and was very impressed by the workings of the office, although it lacked flexibility. While I found that properties were being valued fairly in good commercial areas, I felt we were treated harshly in others in which most business people would not dream of locating a wine bar. The staff gave me a breakdown of how they had arrived at a valuation. The footprint of a property is designated in terms of being in category A, B, C or D. The street frontage has the highest rateable value, whereas the area at the back has a lower rating. Traditionally, kitchens were hidden away at the back, but nowadays businesses should be encouraged to have open kitchens at the front in order that people would be able to see how food was being prepared. In the layout of my wine bars and restaurants we have the kitchen at the front in order that customers can see it in operation, but we are penalised for doing so. The Valuation Office has not moved on from the traditional way in which the different aspects of the building were rated and does not take into account the new location of kitchens at the front of a building. We were slaughtered by the rates payable on some of our businesses. If I were to appeal the rateable valuation of a business to the Valuation Tribunal, how much flexibility would it have in terms of the fixed rules that apply in arriving at the valuation of a property?