Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey is confident that the county’s small business owners will receive a significant boost with the publication of a commercial rates bill by the end of the year.
“I believe that the survival of family businesses is vital for Clare’s smaller towns and villages. Many are struggling to pay their commercial rates and any move to alleviate this burden would be an enormous help to them.
“The Taoiseach has told me that he is also aware of this problem and he is anxious to ensure that some measure of relief will be available to small businesses,” Deputy Carey explained.
“In a recent reply to a question I tabled in the Dáil, Mr Varadkar said he knows that the impact of commercial rates on many towns and villages is very severe and is creating huge difficulties for businesses, particularly in main streets.
“The heads of the Commercial Rates Bill were cleared by Cabinet in April and it is currently being drafted. It is expected to be published by the end of this calendar year.
“Rural and regional development should be central to the Government’s effort to spread the benefits of the economic recovery to areas outside the Dublin catchment area and I am convinced that the new Commercial Rates Bill will reflect this priority,” Deputy Carey concluded.
