Charging rates on vacant premises would generate an additional €2 million in income each year for the Galway City Council and could lead to a rate reduction for all businesses of five per cent.
This is the view of Independent councillor Declan McDonnell who is calling on the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan to amend the Local Government Act 1946 to allow City Hall charge rates on vacant premises. At present only Dublin, Cork and Waterford are permitted to do this.
Cllr McDonnell said if legalisation is passed to allow the council impose charges, it “could mean the difference for a business in remaining open or having to close their doors”.
“If the Act is amended and Galway City Council can also charge rates on empty premises, it will mean additional income for the local authority, a reduction in rates for everyone,” he said. “A secondary benefit is that it will help bring down rents in city properties, as landlords will have to pay rates whether the premises is occupied or not.”
Cllr McDonnell, along with Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Ollie Crowe, have been campaigning to have the Local Government Act amended, but the Minister informed Galway city manager Joe O’Neill that he would not proceed with the amendment to the legislation.
However Fine Gael’s Cllr Pádraig Conneely has recently informed other councillors that according to his information, the Minister has since become more open to the idea of an amendment.
As a result, Cllr McDonnell is calling on Galway West Government TDs Brian Walsh, Seán Kyne, and Derek Nolan to lobby Minister Hogan to have the change made “as a matter of urgency”.
