by Alan Jacques
A TOTAL of €55,820 was paid to 431 individuals and companies from Limerick City and County Council’s Small and Medium Enterprise Support Scheme last year.
And the local authority is now proposing to renew the scheme, which it says played a significant role in reducing the level of arrears for commercial rates during 2014.
The scheme provided financial support to occupiers of commercial properties with a total annual commercial rate demand of between €10,000 and €750 with the payments ranging between €50 and €300 depending on their commercial rates bill.
“As well as helping to reduce the level of arrears, the monies paid in support of the scheme also went back in to the local economy which helped sustain business growth,” Council Finance Director Tom Gilligan explained.
“We have been inundated with calls from customers requesting details of the scheme and wanting to obtain application forms. Given this positive level of feedback, we propose to adopt a similar scheme for 2015 and will bring it to the elected members for approval at the next Council meeting.
Last year, the scheme operated on the basis that commercial rates, including arrears, were to be paid by the end of July. However, in order to encourage customers to pay on-line, applicants paying by direct debit were also eligible for the scheme provided the commercial rates account was paid in full by the end of December. Support payments were then processed on receipt of a completed application form and successful applicants paid by electronic funds transfer.
