HomeNewsCarrot approach gets rates in

Carrot approach gets rates in

By Bernie English

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April 1, 2017

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COMMERCIAL rates arrears payable to Limerick city and county council have been massively reduced, with collection of rates and arrears reaching 77 per cent of what was due.

The percentage represented a significant portion of the total rates bill of €72.37 million for 2016.

The outstanding €18.8 million includes a significant share of old arrears that “would have got to the point where the businesses were no longer communicating with the council”.

Last Monday’s meeting of Limerick City and county Council heard that the local authority’s finance department had a great response to offering special rebates for business owners who pay on time and coming to affordable payment arrangements.

Many of those in arrears were also setting up direct debits to meet their repayments.

And councillors were told that the tourism sector was given special treatment to encourage growth with all rates including arrears set at 4 per cent, the first scheme of its kind in the local authority.

After hearing the presentation on the issue, Cllr James Collins (FF) said that the “message is simple. If you pay your rates in full, you will get money back. If you have a problem, come and talk to us”.

Cllr Liam Glavin (FG) said the council did not want to bully anyone into paying rates.

“For the first time in my 13 years as a councillor, I can see we are helping the people out there who are paying their rates. The carrot works better than the stick. It’s heartwarming to see these kind of results. We’re not here to close down businesses but for the smaller businesses, it’s still not all a bed of roses”.

Cllr Daniel Butler (FG) said he would like to see the increased occupation rates in the city retail spread into small towns as well.

Cllr Cian Prendiville (AAA) said the local authority had adopted a shift in the last two years towards a more progressive rates policy by increasing taxes on biggest rates payers.

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Bernie English http://www.limerickpost.ie

Bernie English has been working as a journalist in national and local media for more than thirty years. She worked as a staff journalist with the Irish Press and Evening Press before moving to Clare. She has worked as a freelance for all of the national newspaper titles and a staff journalist in Limerick, helping to launch the Limerick edition of The Evening Echo. Bernie was involved in the launch of The Clare People where she was responsible for business and industry news.

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