Council attributes record €102m rates payments to ‘flexibility’

Despite the economic downturn, Cork County Council took in €101.8m in rates last year, up more than €10m on what it collected in 2008.

Councillors maintain the secret of their rate collection success is based on staff trying to be as accommodating as they can with struggling businesses, offering them the choice of stage payments and giving them time to pay.

Liz Barry, the council’s acting head of finance, said the local authority “is conscious of the extremely challenging circumstances some businesses find themselves in and the rate collection staff engage with ratepayers to agree payment plans as appropriate on a case-by-case basis.”