Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue for debate. The revaluation process has finished in counties Longford and Westmeath and caused huge anxiety and stress to many businesses. I acknowledge the good work done by various chambers of commerce, including those in Longford, Mullingar and Athlone, and town teams which organised public information evenings following the revaluation process and arranged for officials from the Valuation Office to visit and speak to concerned businesses.

Recently, the Commissioner of Valuation revalued properties owned by public utility companies such as Electric Ireland, An Post and Eir for the purpose of paying commercial rates in each local authority area. It beggars belief that the local rates of these semi-State companies will be substantially reduced on the basis of the commissioner's decision to revalue their properties, while, at the same time, a yawning €21 million deficit is being left in the budgets of local authorities. It is clear that the current system of valuation discriminates against small businesses. I will share with the House correspondence I received from Moate Action Group on the implementation of the Valuation Act 2001. It states the town has suffered badly since the beginning of the recession and lists closures which have taken place, including of seven shops, a bank, a restaurant, two solicitor practices, a post office, a bookies, a major hardware store and a steelworks plant. On the positive side, three premises have opened, including a bike shop, a barbers and a computer shop.

Moate Action Group was established to fight back against the recession, but it finds it dispiriting that the work it has done in the past two years is being hampered by Government diktat from Dublin. It also states the fight for rural regeneration is not easy and that the previous general election should have been a wake-up call for the Government and rural Deputies. The town renewal scheme is welcome, but the rate revision has the potential to forestall any recovery. A local businessman recently asked me why there was a focus on rates. The issue does not affect only Moate. The rates bill for a GP surgery in Longford increased from €750 to €1,500. The rates bills of a drapery store in Granard increased from €2,766 to €4,620. The rates bill of another smaller shop increased from €500 to €1,270. The rates bill of a pub in Ballymore increased from €800 to €4,200. The rates bill of a shop in Castletown Geoghegan increased from €800 to €2,600. I could go on and identify more shops throughout the constituency. This came out the very same week the action plan for rural Ireland was launched. People ask me how we can speak about an action plan for rural Ireland when these exorbitant costs are being placed on businesses which have been fighting so hard for the past six or seven years to try to stay afloat.

I acknowledge the line in the revitalising rural Ireland plan that there is specific action being taken to determine the feasibility of enabling local authorities to introduce rates and alleviation schemes to support rural development policy. I have asked the Department to develop proposals in this regard for inclusion in the general scheme of the rates Bill. The programme for Government states with regard to commercial rates that the Government will implement the Valuation Act which was designed to speed up the cumbersome revaluation process, that it will closely monitor its effectiveness and introduce further measures if it does not see sufficient improvement. When can we expect to see these improvements? I acknowledge that the Government has committed to reassessing how rates are charged to businesses, but in the meantime they are being crippled. While the process of revaluation is ongoing, will the Government introduce an ability to pay clause in order that some businesses can come forward with verified documentary evidence such as certified accounts or tax returns because they simply do not have the money to pay? All I am looking for is a reprieve for these businesses while the Government follows through on its commitment in the programme for Government and that given at the recent launch in Ballymahon.

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