Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a bit like playing handball against a haystack. There is none so blind as those who do not want to see. There are two aspects to the amendment that has been tabled. One aspect is that each municipal area should be allowed to determine its commercial rate. The Minister's argument against that is that different rates could apply in areas within a mile or two of each other. This is already the case. A mile from where I live, a different rate is applied on each side of the river. This is because the other side of the river is in a different county. The Minister's argument against doing what we are suggesting is, therefore, a non-argument. Our proposal would create a competitive dynamic within a county because a municipal area, by creating a rate according to its budget, would generate competitiveness regarding commercial rates within that county. We need some discipline to keep the rate down and competitive.

The second point of the amendment concerns premises occupied by large commercial entities. Tesco has been mentioned but I do not believe it has brought much to the shopping landscape of this country. Other retailers may have. Most of the stores of Tesco are on the outskirts of towns and their location has been detrimental. I argued against the rezoning of land to allow this to happen in my town but I was in a minority. The majority decided otherwise. The rates arrangement certainly has an effect. I certainly commend the efforts being made to try to find a balance by examining charges, including car parking charges. The amendment affords the Minister an opportunity to examine the profitability, and perhaps the revenue, of large commercial enterprises to ensure in some way that their contribution will be higher than that of the smaller shopkeepers so as to afford an opportunity to the latter to survive. The smaller shopkeepers may not be a priority for the Minister but they are a priority for our party.