Crippling city rates could force shops to shut, chamber warns

BUSINESS leaders in Limerick warned yesterday that shops in the city centre will be forced out of business if crippling rates continue to spiral at their present rate.

Limerick city has the highest commercial rate in the country.

Fearing that jobs will be lost and businesses forced to close, Limerick Chamber of Commerce has launched a Commercial Rates Campaign and is calling for local authority charge increases for 2006 not to exceed the projected rate of inflation of 2.4%.

Chamber of Commerce president Robert Graydon said: “Any increase in local authority charges, (including commercial rates, water charges, waste charges and development levies) in the current economic climate could have serious implications for business in the region already struggling with a plethora of other rising costs, including energy, insurance, materials, transport and minimum wage.”

Businesses in Limerick city have seen rates increase by 55.46% in the last 10 years from €48.69 in 1996 to €75.69 at present.

Businesses in Co Limerick have seen rates increase by 66% in the last 10 years from €33.77 in 1996 to €56.08.

Since premises are assessed on the space they cover, these rates mean one major store in Limerick city is paying in excess of €250,000 per year, while a similar premises in the county could be paying around 30% less in rates.

A number of major retailers have moved to suburban shopping centres which are outside the city boundary and pay the much lower county rate.

Businesses located in Co Clare have seen rates increase by 65.25% in the last 10 years from €37.06 in 1996 to €61.24. A sizeable part of Limerick’s suburbs are in Clare.

Mr Graydon said: “Local authority charges are a huge part of the costs base of businesses. Further increases at this stage could be the breaker for some businesses. Limiting any increase to the rate of inflation is crucial for business in the context of the substantial increases in charges imposed upon them in previous years and the pressure on them to survive.”

He called on Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council to play their part in supporting the competitiveness of local enterprise and ultimately protecting local jobs.

Mr Graydon said: “Businesses do not object to paying their fair share but since the abolition of domestic and agricultural rates, they are the only ones shouldering this burden. On average, businesses in Limerick city, through commercial rates, contribute 35.79% to City Council’s total expenditure, businesses in Co Clare contribute 28.72% and Co Limerick businesses contribute 20.8%.”

The core issue, he said, was the inadequate support from central government to local authorities.

He said: “The Valuation Act 2001 provided for a national revaluation of all property for rating purposes. Why hasn’t this national revaluation happened and why, four years later, has no real timeframe been put on this?”