Mr. John O'Sullivan:

I take Deputy Deering's point but that is a policy matter. As the law stands, the shops are rateable. The way the Valuation Act is structured, all properties are liable for rates unless they are exempted and the exemption is set out in one of the schedules to the Act. It is quite precise in stating that the purpose for which the property is operated has to be exclusively for charitable purposes and we have case law surrounding that so therefore as Mr. Lavelle said, our obligation is to rate charity shops for commercial rates.