Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am speaking on behalf of the constituency we represent as a party, namely, small businesspeople who through their own enterprise and hard work have created small businesses that are struggling and in difficulty in the current economic climate. I will not apologise to the Minister or anybody else for articulating and defending their position. I am disappointed with the response the Minister has given.

On the municipal district councils that will now do this function, as a former member of a local authority I know that in the rural areas, the question of rates is not an issue because there are very few commercial rate-paying entities, therefore, the people in those areas do not have an electoral voice. I have spoken to colleagues across the country many of whom said that when they came to the end of the debate on rates, which might have taken place over five or six days, and they were left looking at a deficit of €30,000, €60,000 or whatever, the simplest way to deal with that, and there will always be a proposal from predictable sources, was to increase the rate by 1% or 2% to make up that deficit. As a result of the direction the Minister has gone with this legislation the interests of those small businesses will be affected, even by leaving it at municipal level, but extending it now county-wide will seriously disadvantaged those people. The Minister will be away in Brussels and it will not be a headache for him but it will be a headache for them, and it will be a headache for those interested in creating jobs here. I will be pressing this amendment.

I concur fully with the points made by Senator Crown and Senator Landy. There is a big deficiency in our commercial rates system. First, it is antiquated and, second, it is very subjective because it is based on notional rent. I have many examples of where that notional rent would be significantly removed from the commercial rents that might be obtained for those premises, given the economic circumstances.

I am also aware that we have had a situation where shopkeepers in the same premises, where one has a profitable business and the other may not, may end up paying the same or in some instances the smaller business operator may pay less. The point made by Senator Landy is worthy of consideration. I am surprised that all of this has been subsumed into the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform because we have seen little public expenditure control and, certainly, we have seen no-----