Assurances were given this week by the Galway City Council's chief executive, Brendan McGrath, that the local authority will work with businesses experiencing financial difficulty.
A report from the Local Government Audit Service confirmed the rates collection yield during 2020 decreased by 22 per cent to 61 per cent with arrears increasing by €2m to €10.8m
"The Covid-19 outbreak and the emergency measures taken to mitigate it have had a significant impact on the finances of local authorities during 2020," the report said. "This has resulted in a reduction in income from some sources, an increased level of Covid-19 related expenditure and related government subvention for the local authority."
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The report added that further challenges are being presented in 2021 and that efforts should be made to improve the collection yields.
Mr McGrath [pictured above] explained that the city council is willing to work and engage with any business under duress.
"Through robust and empathetic debt management, anyone with difficulties we work out payment plans," he said. "That remains very much the approach. Collection is slower than one would hope, but we are engaging with each rate payer."
