Businesses struggling to pay rates bill

HARD-UP publicans and shopkeepers in villages and small towns around Kerry may be unable to pay their rates this year, it was claimed yesterday.

Rates are becoming an unfair burden on business people whose trade was now being lost to multinational retailers in the bigger towns, Independent councillor Danny Healy-Rae told Kerry County Council’s annual budget meeting.

“If pressurised business people make submissions about not being able to pay their rates they should be facilitated properly and without delay,” he said.

He was supported by Fine Gael councillor Liam Purtill who claimed publicans and small shopkeepers were coming under extreme pressure and many might not survive.

“Some of these premises have already closed and others are on the brink of closure. If they close, it’s very unlikely they will ever open again and an essential part of rural infrastructure will be lost forever,” he said.

County manager Tom Curran introduced a budget allowing for the spending of almost €142 million in 2008, an 8% increase on last year.

Included in this figure, €17.5 million will come from rates paid by only 12% of the county’s population.

The annual rate on valuation in Kerry, this year, is €79, a rise of 4% of last year.

This year, the council’s housing programme will cost more than €14 million, 10% of the total budget. The council builds an average of 130 houses annually.

Under a Traveller accommodation programme, 54 families have been housed and a further 33 families will need to be accommodated before the end of next year.

Concern was voiced about an imbalance in relation to halting sites around Kerry. Killarney has 19 bays in two halting sites, while Tralee has four bays in one halting site.

Independent councillor Michael Gleeson said there should be a wider dispersal of halting sites around the county.

“I’m wondering why there is such a high percentage in Killarney and why Killarney is so attractive,” he said.

On the council’s overall funding, Mr Curran said the council depended very much on central government and was limited to a number of very small areas for local and discretionary funding.

He said the council charged for water on a commercial basis, while charges for refuse collection had to compete with the charges of private waste contractors.

“If our charges for land-filling are too high, people will transport waste to other landfills,” said Mr Curran.

“Yet, we will still be left to meet the cost of providing infrastructure and maintenance.”

Pointing out that the Kerry council was one of the few local authorities still involved in refuse collection, he said the service was of tremendous benefit to the county and it was important that it continued.

“If a council withdraws from refuse collection, costs go up,” he added.

The council’s bin charge per household this year will be €180.