County divided over plans to harmonise Kingdom’s rates

Businesses in small towns and rural villages are being treated unfairly by having to pay more in rates than a leading tourist resort, it was stated yesterday.

There was divided opinion at Kerry County Council’s annual budget meeting which heard details of plans to harmonise rates across the county over an eight-year period.

Killarney had a lower commercial rate than the rest of Kerry, under the now abolished town council system, and there is opposition in the tourist centre to plans to increase the rates in the town by more than 10%.