Hoteliers: Local authority rates 'crippling' industry

Local authority rates imposed on hotels and guesthouses are "crippling" the industry, the newly elected President of the Irish Hotels Federation, Paul Gallagher told delegates at its AGM today.

According to a survey of IHF members, the issue of local authority rates is the most pressing affecting the viability of hotels and guesthouses, with 87% of respondents indicating that rates are having a significant negative impact on their businesses.

The IHF today called on the Government to establish an ‘inability to pay’ emergency provision and a 30% reduction in rates nationwide for the sector, to save viable hotel and guesthouse business which are going to the wall.

The IHF has criticised the fact that local authority rates are set by individual local authorities without recall to any independent evaluation

“Under the law since 2001, the Valuation Office are supposed to be carrying out a revision of the rateable valuation of every rateable property in the country and to date only two local authorities in the entire country have completed this process," Mr Gallagher said.

"We need Government intervention immediately and specifically the Ministers for Finance and the Environment to intercede now before further damage is done to our sector.”