Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I should point out that the Valuation Office came within the aegis of the Department of Justice and Equality with effect from 1 January 2016. Under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015, the Commissioner of Valuation who is independent in carrying out his functions has sole responsibility for the maintenance of valuation lists for all commercial properties in the State which are used by all local authorities in the calculation of rates. The Minister for Justice and Equality has no role in that regard.

Under Irish law, there is a distinct separation of functions between the valuation of rateable property and the setting and collection of commercial rates. The amount in rates payable by a ratepayer in any year is a product of the valuation set by the Commissioner of Valuation, multiplied by the annual rate of valuation decided annually by the elected members of each local authority. Having a modern valuation base which reflects contemporary market conditions is important for the levying of commercial rates on a fair and equitable basis across all economic sectors. This has been the policy of successive Governments for many years and is the express purpose of the national revaluation programme being rolled out by the Valuation Office on an accelerated basis under the direction of the Commissioner for Valuation. This is the first revaluation of all rating authority areas in more than 150 years. The revaluation provisions in the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015 provide for the revaluation of all rateable property within a rating authority area so as to reflect changes in value due to economic factors, differential movements in property values or other external factors such as infrastructural changes in the vicinity of a property and changes in the local business environment.

As the Deputy will be aware, a revaluation is a revenue neutral exercise from a local authority perspective. I am advised that the general outcome of the revaluations conducted to date has been that approximately 60% of ratepayers have had their liability for rates reduced following a revaluation and that approximately 40% have had an increase, a pattern which is expected to be replicated elsewhere as the programme advances. The current phase of the national revaluation programme is known as REVAL 2017 and covers the revaluation of all rateable properties in counties Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon, Westmeath, Offaly, Kildare, Sligo, Carlow and Kilkenny, where a revaluation is being undertaken for the first time since the 19th century. The current phase also includes the second revaluation of the South Dublin County Council area. The revaluation in all of these counties will be completed in September and become effective for rating purposes from 2018 onwards. The next phase of the programme covering a further batch of local authority areas yet to be decided will begin immediately thereafter.

The Valuation Acts expressly require the Valuation Office to produce valuations that are correct, equitable and uniform. An extensive system of redress is available to ratepayers dissatisfied with a proposed valuation. A dissatisfied person can make representations to the Valuation Office within 40 days of the date of issue of the proposed valuation certificate. The Valuation Office will consider the representations and may or may not change the proposed valuation, depending on the circumstances of each individual property. Ratepayers who are still dissatisfied can lodge a formal appeal to the Valuation Tribunal, an independent statutory body established to hear appeals against decisions of the Commissioner of Valuation.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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To be fair, the Minister of State is right as an appeals process is under way. She stated 60% of ratepayers had not seen an increase, but 40% did. Some saw an increase of anything up to 400% and they simply do not have the money to pay as their businesses are struggling. I listed a selection of examples of such businesses stretched across the constituency of Longford-Westmeath. The programme for Government includes a commitment that the process will be accelerated. I acknowledge that it has been, but the programme also includes a commitment that its effectiveness will be monitored. As I stated, 40% of businesses have seen substantial increases in their commercial rates bill and they simply cannot afford to pay. A commitment was given by the Government at the recent launch of the revitalising rural Ireland plan in Ballymahon. Will the Minister of State commit to examine the introduction of a new fairer and more equitable system? Will she tell me when will it be introduced? When will we have new legislation in place?

The Minister has been on a local authority, as I have, and she knows that they are restricted by national legislation in what they can do. We need new national legislation that will bring in a fairer, more equitable system that takes account of a person's ability to pay, the turnover and profitability of a business etc. When will new legislation be brought before the Dáil so that all Members can have an opportunity to have an input into it?

I understand that it is not proper to the Minister of State's Department but will she ask the relevant Minister to look at introducing an ability to pay clause in the current legislation as a temporary measure? I am not asking for a free for all but a clause for those who show, by documentary evidence such as certified accounts or tax returns, that they do not have the ability to pay. We want to keep rural Ireland open and one of its biggest problems currently is the high cost of commercial rates.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not have the specific answers to the Deputy's questions but I will inform the Minister in question and ask him to get back to the Deputy. This is the first national re-evaluation to take place in over 150 years so it is important that the process is completed as soon as possible. A number of small businesses in my constituency have seen rates go up by €3,000 or €4,000 and I understand the points the Deputy is making. I will make sure he gets an answer in the next couple of days.