Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As I was saying earlier, I have a number of questions on this amendment. The Minister in his contribution earlier said that it was within the remit of a local authority to set a refund rate from 100% downwards. Is it possible that a local authority would allow for a full refund of rates and that it could be set at zero? My next question relates to how the legislation is written. The Minister can correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that the owner or occupier of a premises would have to pay the rates and then claim the refund, which has big implications in the context of cashflow for businesses. If that is the case, it is a weakness in the way the Bill is drafted, because I know that is not the Minister's intention here.

I can see the merit in this provision, which aims to release property back onto the market. Local authorities do not want people holding on to premises and letting them go into disrepair, thus dragging down the whole streetscape, but how would it work in a rural electoral area or division? In my own county of Roscommon, each electoral division covers a massive geographical area. While the issue may be relevant on one particular street in one particular town, it may not be applicable anywhere else within that electoral division. Is flexibility afforded to local authorities to designate a particular area within an electoral division? It seems that the way the provision is drafted at present makes it suitable for cities but not necessarily for rural areas. Indeed, it may even be a problem within cities, depending on how the electoral areas are divided. If, for example, the main thoroughfare is the dividing line, with a very dispersed area on one side and a highly commercial area on the other side, the local authority might decide to apply different refund rates in each area, which would mean different rates would apply to either side of the street, which would not make sense. I ask the Minister to clarify the situation in that regard.

More flexibility and discretion needs to be given to individual local authorities in terms of how they apply business rates in particular circumstances, especially in the current economic climate. One issue that is particularly relevant to a county such as my own and to other rural counties is the need to be able to vary the rate based on the size of premises. To give an example, in County Roscommon, 5% of ratepayers pay 50% of the rates. A 1% reduction in the rate to those ratepayers would give them a saving of €653 on rates that are in excess of €20,000 per annum, which is a minuscule saving to them. However, a saving of €653 to the 95% of ratepayers who pay the other 50% of the rates collected would make a significant difference to those businesses in terms of their longer-term viability. A scheme in place in the United Kingdom since 2005 called the small business rate relief scheme allows for rate relief for businesses up to a certain threshold. I believe the threshold is currently £5,000. Could the Minister investigate the feasibility of doing something like that here? We know that the biggest difficulties are faced by the very small retailers who are being squeezed by the major retailers in the towns. If one wants to see good footfall on the main streets in towns and commercially viable town centres, those small businesses need support, because they encourage people to come in and walk through towns. I ask the Minister to examine that issue further.

We need to do more to encourage small business start-ups. Many Deputies would have come across situations in which an individual wants to set up a new business but finds that there is a significant overhang of a rates bill on a preferred premises. That usually comes up when a property is being sold. The overhang is carried with the property. I know this issue has been raised previously and it is addressed in the legislation-----

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