Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I come from a small business in the Mullingar-Castlepollard area, which is a village-type setting. The rates were revalued in Westmeath and are now based on rental values. There has been a fundamental shift in how rates are calculated in that in certain lines of business this is based on turnover. This has caused havoc for businesses never previously rated in this way. The rates bills for pub owners are now based on turnover. I know a man who is running a family business, on which he, his wife, his children and his father are dependent. As the family lives above the business, he receives a discount in his rates but they recently increased from €1,500 to approximately €6,000, which is a massive increase. This man is trying to earn a living and pay his taxes. He recently hired someone to go through his accounts to see if there are any further discounts he can avail of in respect of the proportion of the business in which he lives. I have come across several instances of this in the provincial town like Mullingar. There are many large manufacturers and retailers in the area whose rates bills have decreased, which points to a fundamental problem with the current rates system. I am sure the agencies here today represent many of them too. The problem is small businesses are being hammered.

As we all know, for many years rates remained unchanged. They were set by the councils and covered services such as waste collection, parking, water and other facilities. Many of these services, including parking, are no longer covered and as a result consumers are being driven out of towns. Parking charges are considered a cash cow but they will not be much of a cash cow when people stop coming to towns to shop. Another issue is the increase in online shopping. We often hear from retailers that people are calling in to their shops to try on outfits which they then buy online. What is going on in retail these days is criminal.

There has been no engagement with small retailers - the smaller guy on the street and family-run businesses - who have just been thrown to the wolves because it suits the interests of larger businesses and local authorities which take the view that most guys will, whatever else, pay anyway. I am curious as to the witnesses' thoughts on that.