Council rate cut is an important first step say local businesses

A DECISION by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to commit to a rates reduction of 2.5 per cent in next year’s budget has been welcomed by local businesses.

However, the Dun Laoghaire BID (Business Improvement District) company stated that the reduction, while an important first step, must go a lot further in order to make doing business in the area sustainable.

Don McManus, Chair of the D˙n Laoghaire BID company, said existing rate levels were making it very difficult for many small, medium and indeed larger businesses in D˙n Laoghaire town to maintain current staff levels.

“Ratepayers are the single biggest contributor to the D˙n Laoghaire Rathdown County Council budget, so it goes without saying that it is in the council’s interest to bring rates to an affordable level, so business is viable,” he said.

“Notwithstanding the 2.5 per cent reduction in rates in next year’s budget, nearly 50 per cent or

?¬81.67 million will be contributed by businesses in our county.”

The BID company said the council needed to show their commitment to businesses in the county in the 2016 and 2017 budgets.

“There needs to be further and more substantial reductions in rates to equate to the 15 per cent reduction in local property tax voted for at the council’s budget meeting,” Mr McManus added.

“Our proposal for a substantial reduction over a three year period is realistic and affordable and we intend to engage closely with our elected representatives to develop a strategic approach to reaching this end goal of a 15 per cent reduction by 2017.”

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said it had adopted a budget for 2015 that would maintain and expand current levels of service, while also reducing local taxes and charges.

“The benefits of the emerging economic recovery have had a positive impact on the budget and have resulted in the first expansionary budget in this county since 2008,” a spokesperson said. “The main objective of this budget is to ensure a fair and equitable spread of those benefits.”