John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I must agree with Deputy Barry Cowen on the system being archaic; it is and the Government acknowledges this. On three or four occasions friends of mine went out of business when competing against a business operating over the Internet. The latter type of business is run from the home and pays no rates. On a couple of occasions my friends said to me that the next time they went into business, they would compete on a worldwide level over the Internet. They said there was no future in paying rates and trying to compete against individuals who had a warehouse somewhere from where they shipped their product. We need to start taking this into consideration because the world is changing. Our system is not changing quickly enough.

Since I started examining this issue, one point comes across to me time and again. A number of Departments have a stake in commercial rates valuation and there is insufficient co-ordination. The commercial rates valuation issue is like the unwanted child for the Government. One needs to start considering putting responsibility under one roof. The responsibilities of the four relevant Departments, the Department of Finance, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, should be consolidated. There is a singular lack of co-ordination throughout government. If addressing this issue means giving responsibility to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, it might be a good first step to take in this area.

The Minister alluded to the Valuation (Amendment) Bill. It limits the criteria according to which somebody can make an appeal. It introduces a system of self-assessment, but the key question which has not been answered and on which the Valuation Office was very unclear is whether those being given new valuations, as in Dublin, Limerick and Waterford, will be able to self-assess under the new system when the legislation comes into play. People want to know this. One might ask oneself whether it would be wise to have two systems in operation next year once the Bill is enacted. These are some of the questions with which we will have to deal.

Consider the issues concerning the Valuation (Amendment) Bill and the Valuation Office. Until recently the Department of Finance was the umbrella organisation or Department. Now responsibility has transferred to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. I know there is a chance responsibility might be transferred to the Department of Justice and Equality, but I get the feeling nobody wants this. Somebody must step in and take ownership of commercial rates valuation. That would be a good first step.

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