No Increase in Commercial Rates as Clare County Council members adopt Budget 2025

Recommending the draft budget to the members, Chief Executive of Clare County Council Pat Dowling outlined a budget that would prioritise supporting the local business community and continue to provide for community projects, without raising the commercial rates.

“However, retaining the rates at the current level will present challenges for the council in the next fiscal year,” he said

“The additional services, infrastructure and the impact of inflation over the last Council term explains the challenges we have faced and will face over the term of the new Council,” Mr Dowling told council members.

“Despite this significant challenge, we as a local authority remain cognisant of the challenges faced by the business community in the county – challenges that reflect in many ways the challenges encountered by the local authority. We therefore recommend that we do not increase commercial rates this year.”

Other supports for local businesses contained in the 2025 Budget include:

• Long Term Vacant Property Incentive Scheme in 2025
• The Hospitality 5% Support Scheme
• And Small and Medium Business 5% Support Scheme. This support is available to approximately 87% of commercial rates customers.

Following the adoption of the budget Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr Alan O’Callaghan said, “This budget was adopted to avoid passing on increase costs to businesses. It will provide challenges for the local authority next year, but I am proud to say we have safeguarded our support for the Community Grants managed by Rural and Community Development with funding of €690,000. This funding of almost €700,000 will support the development of playgrounds, burial grounds, the arts, and other projects and facilities in our communities.”

Director of Service for Finance and Support Services, Noeleen Fitzgerald concluded, “To balance the budget, it required us to generate more income or reduce expenditure or a combination of both. Despite these challenges we have adopted a €191.9 million revenue budget and a €630 million three-year capital programme that reflects the local authority’s continued commitment to delivering services and investing in infrastructure in the county.”

To present a balanced budget for 2025, the deficit in funding has been addressed with a combination of the following:

• no increase in expenditure across budget request areas.
• additional income in commercial rates from a national revaluation of ESB networks and Uisce Éireann networks.
• increased income from Goods and Services where a review will be completed on all income from Goods and Services for implementation in 2025.
• a reduction in match funding for capital projects through loan finance.
• a reduction in salaries and wages where vacant posts occur throughout the year and the timing of their filling will provide this budget saving.
• additionality in street cleaning and resources to burial grounds and roads.

Page last reviewed: 02/12/24

Content managed by: Finance Department

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