County council to freeze business rates for 5 years

Cork County Council will stick to its promise not to increase rates for businesses until at least 2021, according to its CEO Tim Lucey.

While Cork City Council bosses are seeking a rise in rates when they discuss their budget tomorrow night, Mr Lucey said his local authority was not, even though it had taken a hit because some major utility companies had their rates significantly reduced by the Central Valuations Office.

Mr Lucey said he would not increase rates even though the council was faced with increased costs through payroll and pensions within its €306.8m budget for 2017. Around 42% of the budget is made up of income from rates.