Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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1261. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department will encourage local authorities to use their discretion and remove business rates from the premises in which the shops of an organisation (details supplied) operate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4591/20]

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by the Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015. The Commissioner of Valuation has responsibility for valuation matters, including determination of relevant property under the Acts for the purposes of rates. As Minister, I have no function in relation to decisions in this regard. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local authority.

The Valuation Acts provide that certain categories of properties are not rateable. Details of these properties are set out in Schedule 4 of the Acts and include a property occupied by a charity exclusively for charitable purposes and otherwise than for private profit. This exemption would not include retail activity.

The Acts are quite specific about the range of exemptions that can be allowed by the Commissioner of Valuation, who has no discretionary latitude to grant exemptions not covered by Schedule 4. As a matter of course, the Valuation Office examines all cases on their individual merits by reference to the relevant statutory provisions governing the valuation process as they relate to categories of properties.

Local authorities may decide to offer assistance or money in kind, as provided for under section 66 of the Local Government Act 2001, in order to promote the interests of the local community, which includes, inter alia, the economic or general development of the administrative area (or part of it) of the local authority concerned. Also, local authorities work closely with ratepayers experiencing difficulty in the payment of commercial rates. In this regard, local authorities facilitate the payment of commercial rates by instalments, and work with businesses to put in place flexible payment options that reflect capacity to pay.

Additionally, and of relevance to retail outlets, on 2 May 2020, Government announced that a waiver of commercial rates will apply to all businesses that have been forced to close due to COVID-19 related public health requirements, from 27 March 2020, for a three-month period. The expected costs of €260m will be met by the Exchequer.