Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin will be supporting the Bill on Second Stage. While it is limited in scope, it will ensure that commercial rates are collected in a manner reflective of what small businesses are capable of paying. A formal structure for that process is welcome to local authorities and business alike, I am sure. I remember as mayor of South Dublin engaging with many businesses that struggled to pay their rates. The council always maintained that rates would never make the difference between a business surviving or not but we know it is much more of a grey area than that. I will come to that in a momentCommercial rates make up a third of local authority income. They can be burdensome for struggling businesses that want to be compliant. Seasonal businesses come to mind. We should do all we can to help. The alleviation scheme in particular would be of great benefit to businesses that are struggling and which might find that payment falls due at the wrong time of the year or during a disappointing quarter. They may wish to be compliant but the rigid system works against them. As Senator Murnane O'Connor mentioned, there are way too many boarded-up shops and restaurants on the main streets of our villages and towns, and even in the villages of this city. Senator Coffey was speaking about the urban-rural divide.

I have spoken before in this House about our really cumbersome licensing system. Nightclubs and late-night venues all across the State are closing to be replaced by hotels. We need to make licensing independent of the backlogged and costly courts system through which nightclubs and late-night venues currently need to go.

Unpaid rates are a hindrance to local authorities. Over €300 million in unpaid rates is lost every year. This money could enhance our communities and local authority services. Many local authorities offered relief during the financial crisis for the sole purpose of saving jobs. A progressive alliance of Sinn Féin and the Labour Party did so in South Dublin County Council from 2009 onwards. Local authorities are best placed to decide on such reliefs and they should continue to do so.

I concur with the remarks made about the valuation system here and in the Dáil. The current system needs a good deal of change in order to be fair and transparent and to allow ratepayers to interact with and have confidence in the system. I will leave it there. Sinn Féin will be supporting the Bill. A colleague of mine will be moving a short amendment in my absence tomorrow. We hope for Government support.