Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Many of my questions have been answered. I welcome the amendment which was discussed at length on Committee Stage when concern was expressed by Members across the board about the original proposals. Some local authorities were happy to retain the 50% refund which had been in place for many years. The Minister referred to Dublin, Limerick and Cork in that regard. They might have become accustomed to the revenue stream, while others might have been lobbying for this. It is definitely not a case of one size fits all. The rates refund is directly related to demand which is substantially different in city centres compared to towns and villages. The Minister has listened and shown that there is an economic difference between some of the cities I mentioned and towns and villages. It is important that councillors will have the power and discretion to judge for themselves and be accountable for whatever rate refund measure they implement in their local authority area. Everything is related to demand. We have many vacant properties in towns and villages and especially in rural areas. The Minister will be aware of this in his own constituency. We must try to do all we can to incentivise town and village centre renewal. Measures have been taken to encourage residential use over shops and increase footfall in towns and villages.

Any action we can take to incentivise this must be taken. I am concerned that some local authorities might use the power for another revenue-raising stream without taking any cognisance of the economic challenges faced by many towns and villages. There are reasons certain properties are vacant. We certainly do not want landlords squatting on them. If that is the case in certain urban areas, it will give councillors the power to address this issue. However, there could be towns and villages where property is vacant simply because the demand is not there. It would be unfair to impose another burden on these properties in such circumstances. We need to strike a balance in this regard and I hope the amendment will give discretion to local authorities which are better placed to measure the needs and economic activities in their respective areas. I welcome Seanad amendment No. 16.

See this speech in context