Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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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 independent Commissioner of Valuation under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015. The Annual Rate on Valuation (ARV), which is applied to the valuation of each property determined by the Valuation Office to obtain the amount payable in rates, is decided by the elected members of each local authority in the annual budget and its determination is a reserved function. It is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources.

The reduction in rates income to Clare County Council in 2021 as a result of the forthcoming downsizing of Moneypoint Powerstation is understood and I can confirm that once off support funding of €2.5m is to be made available from my Department to help Clare County Council mitigate the loss.