Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I am sure a case I recall from my time as a councillor could be applied throughout the country. As it occurred before the revaluation process commenced, I am not sure what the position is now. It involved a major supermarket which had been opened in my county. The council was doing its budget at the time and took a long time to rate the supermarket which had a potential rates bill of €100,000. The case led me to believe that while we were pushing small retailers hard and ramming revaluations down their throats, a number of new entrants to the system got away with not paying rates for a significant period because the Valuation Office's systems were not sharp enough to get back to local authorities.