Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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207. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 223 of 30 September 2014, in which it was stated that, in general, the Act maintains the long-standing position that all commercial facilities established for the purpose of making a private profit are liable for rates, the reason some sporting facilities including GAA county grounds are liable for commercial rates. [37949/14]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Valuation Act, 2001 provides for the exemption from rates of land that is developed for sport such as playing pitches, land on golf courses, tennis courts, etc. It also provides for the exemption from rates of "Community Halls". To be classified as a Community Hall, the premises needs to be used for purposes which are not for profit or gain and involve participation by inhabitants of the locality generally and are used for purposes which are of a recreational or otherwise of a social nature.

Many sports clubs/organisations achieve exemption from rates of their property under this provision. However, the Valuation Act, 2001 specifically excludes from this provision, the premises of a club registered under the Registration of Clubs (Ireland) Act, 1904. Therefore, the premises of such a registered club are rateable, which essentially means that clubs that sell alcohol are rateable.  This provision currently has the effect of making the entire premises occupied by the club rateable and not just that part of the premises normally used for the sale of alcohol. This is because the sale of alcohol is a commercial activity and a registered sports club is competing with other commercial licensed premises, all of which are rateable.   This situation can place an undue burden on many local clubs as most of their facility is purely for sporting purposes, and is provided on a not-for-profit basis with local volunteer effort for the benefit of the local community.

I am, therefore, proposing an amendment to the Valuation (Amendment)(No.2) Bill 2012, which is  currently at Committee stage in the Seanad, that  would mean  Community Sports Clubs will only be liable for rates on buildings that are used for the generation of income. Buildings that are used for the sale of alcohol or food, retail outlets etc. will be rated but buildings that are used for community sport will be exempt.  If a sports club's only commercial facility is the bar then it is only the bar and ancillary facilities that will be rated.

In proposing this amendment, I am conscious of situations where local sports clubs can be in competition with commercial operators. For that reason it is not just the bar area of a sports club that will be valued for rates but any building that is used in the generation of income. Minister of State, Simon Harris will be taking the Valuation (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2012 through the Houses of the Oireachtas and we both welcome this common-sense amendment to address a long standing concern of many local sports clubs.