Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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72. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if a company (details supplied) with an annual local authority rates bill in excess of €100,000 can be granted a waiver on fees in view of Coivd-19 and Brexit-related pressures on the company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39036/20]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In recognising the difficulties faced by businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Programme for Government – “Our Shared Future”, in the area of “Reigniting and Renewing the Economy,” committed to set out how commercial rates will be treated for the remainder of 2020. One of the earliest priorities of both Minister O’Brien and I was to secure funding to provide a waiver of commercial rates for businesses impacted by the pandemic, while simultaneously supporting local authorities.

€600m was allocated by Government to fund the cost of a six-month waiver of rates from 27 March to 27 September 2020. To strengthen this support the Government subsequently announced an extension of the waiver until 27 December 2020, at an additional cost of €300m. This brings to €900m the financial support to fund the cost of a waiver of commercial rates, which is an unprecedented measure that offers support to businesses and certainty to local authorities.

The waiver applies to the majority of ratepayers, with a small number of categories excluded, such as utilities, banks, large supermarkets and corporates, whose businesses have not generally been as severely impacted by the pandemic. However, in acknowledgement that some ratepayers in the excluded categories may have closed during the period of the public health restrictions or were otherwise adversely affected, ratepayers in these categories may also be eligible, if they can demonstrate that the pandemic has had a significant negative impact on their business. Ratepayers should engage with directly their local authority in this regard.

For clarity, the commercial rates waiver refers to 2020 and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic only; the scheme is unrelated to Brexit.