Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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9. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to stem the growing commercial decay in town centres around the State. [30184/14]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Guím gach rath ar an Aire agus ar an Aire Stáit. Comhghairdeas leo ar a bpostanna nua. I hope the solutions the Minister talks about are not horizon solutions and that we will see them in the future. The housing crisis is one of the biggest crises in the State. The solutions need to be timescaled to the crisis. The crisis is now and the solutions have to be implemented now.

Many people believe they are living on Shutter Island. So many main streets up and down the country have their shops closed down. People believe they are back in the 1980s and young people have been depleted. This is as a result of the economic crash, bad planning and management by local authorities, and the migration of retail to the Internet. What can the local authorities do, and what can the Minister direct them to do, to ensure this stops?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for his good wishes and his question on town centres throughout the State. The downturn in economic activity associated with the recession has resulted in a significant number of shop closures and vacant units in town and city centres across the country. We all see this in every county. My county, Tipperary, and that of Minister of State Deputy Coffey, Waterford, are not exempt. To help address this issue, a number of initiatives have been taken by my Department in recent years. Local authorities were requested, where possible, to reduce commercial rates and local charges to assist local businesses. Revised development contribution guidelines were introduced last year, which resulted, for example, in an acknowledged 26% reduction in contributions applied to developments in the four Dublin local authority areas. Also included is the publication of new guidelines on retail planning in 2012, aimed at promoting and supporting the vitality and viability of town and city centres.

Further to the commitment in the Construction 2020 strategy, my Department is examining the possibility of enabling local authorities, should they wish to do so, to adopt measures to incentivise the use and development of vacant and under-utilised sites in urban areas and - dare I say - town centres across rural Ireland. My Department remains committed to providing a clear framework for addressing urban centre decline and its impact on the retail sector, and we will explore all options in order to achieve this.

I have considerable interest in this issue. We have a number of planning Bills to come before the House. There are other avenues we can explore also, including working with the local authorities. Town centres, because of the various circumstances the Deputy and I have outlined, have been left bereft, with buildings empty. This needs to be addressed and all avenues will be explored in this regard.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I want to draw particular attention to the diverging two-tier society that has developed in the State. Inside the M50 there are some stirrings of activity, but the rest of the country is unaffected. This means people in the Border, midlands and west are more likely to be in poverty or unemployed, or more likely to emigrate. According to the last census, the population of these areas fell.

The Minister mentioned rates. I ask him to consider seriously a progressive business rate whereby the same amount in rates would be coming into the coffers of the local authority but according to a system whereby the rate would be designed to take the pressure off businesses that are struggling. I hope we generally believe in progressive taxation, but a progressive business rate would reflect the level of profit of a business at a given time. This would be a great incentive to continue for those businesses that are barely hanging on by their fingernails at present.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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In answering the question, I must dismiss the Deputy’s point on economic recovery, but that is for another day. The impact is being seen in more areas around the country. The issue raised is a real one, however, and of course I accept that. The Deputy raised the issue of rates and suggested how a change to the rates system could help. We are examining various options in regard to levies, rates and that whole space to try to incentivise businesses and deal with the relevant issues.

In some cases, quite large organisations or companies have buildings across the country which have been idle and unused for a long time, yet they have not been sold. They are in prime locations in town centres. That is a real issue which I believe should be dealt with as well.

The other issue with regard to local authorities being progressive in respect of rates is the fact that 82 of the 88 rating authorities either reduced rates or maintained them at the same level this year as in 2013. They have been examined and there has been a good deal of flexibility. However, a combination of the matters I just mentioned is really the avenue to take to try to get more people into town centres and generate more business.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Another issue is the detachment of local authorities from the experience of workers, traders and businesses throughout the State. Typically, local authorities just see a euro sign when they look at this sector of society. In the North, local authorities do tremendous work in the provision of training programmes for businesses, traders and workers. Such training programmes must be developed by local authorities in the South. In fact, the training programmes must be directed in two ways. They must also be within the local authorities to ensure that local authorities develop their policies in sympathy with the needs of the people outside.

Another big issue in this area at present is the migration of billions of euro of retail sales from towns onto the Internet. Three of every four of those euro are leaving the State and entering a foreign till. There is a massive need for local authorities to take the lead in providing online towns, whereby local traders who do not necessarily have the ICT experience to provide e-commerce to their customers are given an opportunity to migrate onto that virtual space as well. That would stem the level of leakage of these retail euro out of the country and ensure that those jobs stay at home.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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In my previous occupation before entering politics I was an e-business manager. There are a number of grants available for retailers in that space. It is an area that has been quite successful, but it probably could be developed even further.

With regard to the Deputy's commentary on the need for local authorities to ramp up their activities rather than seeing businesses as a cash cow, I was with members of my local authority at the Limerick Institute of Technology campus in Thurles, County Tipperary, last week, where it held a showcase of all the developing businesses in the area. I encourage all local authorities to do this. Others have done it, and it is a good idea. In fairness, with the broadening of the tax base, which has been encouraged under this Government, and the establishment of the local enterprise offices, LEOs, and the local community development committees, LCDCs, which are in the process of being established, there is greater interaction between the local authorities, the business communities, traders and so forth, and there is greater connectivity. There is also more flexibility regarding rates and levies, and that will become more progressive. As a consequence, I believe there is a more nuanced relationship which facilitates business and traders to a greater extent. Can it be improved into the future? Are all local authorities the same? Probably not, to be honest. However, it is far more progressive. Over my period in office I will encourage that as much as possible, because I believe there can be real achievements as a result.