*Frank Landy.
BUSINESSES across Clare have said they feel “betrayed” by the decision of Clare County Council and its elected members to increase commercial rates by 8 percent.
At its Annual Budget meeting last Wednesday, there was no dissenting voices from elected members as the Council Executive’s proposal to hike up rates was rubber stamped.
Forty eight hours before Black Friday, retailers and businesses were left gobsmacked upon learning that the local authority and its elected members opted to place an additional burden on them.
Co-owner of Sweet n Green café, Frank Landy has said he will refuse to pay the commercial rates and described the increase as “the straw which broke the camel’s back”. He told The Clare Echo, “I’m very disappointed with the County Council’s decision to increase the rates by eight percent when in actual fact it should have been a reduction given the patience and understanding shown by all the businesses in the town considering the massive disruption during the public realm works”.
Stressing €1 of an increase was too much, Frank said, “I really feel a disconnect to the Council, what are they actually doing to help small businesses like mine, since my interview on Alan’s Morning Focus I’ve had nothing but wonderful support and I’ve also heard some very sad stories from small hard-working traders a lot worse off than myself”.
At Sweet n Green, Frank works as a head chef, pastry chef and commis chef while his wife and co-ower Siobhain is supervisor, account and a waitress. “Deciding not to pay the rates is not a crusade, it’s just a pure point of principle. We’re just asking for a little respect from the Council for all we do as traders to better the community, the parish and the county, the people we meet and interact with on a daily basis promoting all the local suppliers and everything that’s wonderful about Clare,” he said.
Among the enterprises facing a sizeable bill as a result are the Shannon Airport Group who are expected to have an additional €223,188 to provide to the local authority. “We acknowledge Clare County Council’s decision to increase commercial rates as part of its efforts to maintain services and support its objectives. While we understand the context of this decision, the scale of the increase represents a notable adjustment to The Shannon Airport Group’s operating costs,” a spokesperson for the Shannon Airport Group told The Clare Echo.
Barry O’Driscoll of Precious Pets in Ennis told The Clare Echo, “we feel betrayed just after we put up with years of roadworks and loss of car parking spaces. We’re just about recovering from the public realm works and we’re hit with this, we weren’t told about it only hours beforehand and then bam we’re given another eight percent increase. We’ve increased costs in business and auto-enrollment from January where we have to contribute to pensions. The timing is ill-judged and I feel a sense of deep betrayal, Clare County Council should know better”.
O’Driscoll has said he is unsure if he will pay the increased rates. “I will have to give serious consideration paying the rates. I believe that this rates increase will close a lot of businesses that are already struggling countywide”. He added, “we opened in 1999 and when we opened first when you paid for your rates that included your bins and your water as part of that with the Urban District Council at the time. Now, we have to pay for water and bins separately, the cost of rates has gone way beyond inflation”.
Finding the additional money to pay the increased costs will be a challenge for businesses, Martin Canavan of Moher Hill Open Farm and Leisure Park outlined. “Eight percent is a lot at a time when tourism has gone a bit flat certainly the domestic market in particular and the North American market both have gone very flat, it is disappointing to say the least. Our biggest problem is where the 8% will come from, we can’t pass it onto the customer so it will have to come from the bottom line. We’re 25 years in business and I’ve never saw the bottom line as bad with wages, PRSI, cash has gone out of the system so the cost of the credit card is another thing, they are costing 6% of the sales. This is something I only went into detail when I did our end of year accounts, people tapping think nothing about it but it is 6% of the sale. 6 and 8 is 14 so it is a huge cost”.
Parts of Rural Clare do not get the same level of service from the local authority, he flagged. “Some businesses might get something back from sewerage, we have nothing like that in rural Clare, we’ve our own water, electricity, we’ve nothing from Clare County Council, no street lights, it is unfair. It is unfair that rates are based on twelve months of the year, every tourism business in North Clare in general would be closed for five months of the year, we are doing Santa which is keeping open, we’re only open three quarters of the year yet we are charged for the full year”.
Liscannor native Martin noted there is only a few “handful of families left in the tourism business” in Clare. “There are only a few of us established long-term, there are no new family businesses cropping up because the cost of doing business is exorbitant, it is tough going, you’re paying the staff and your costs, July and August are the two main months in Liscannor and Lahinch and you are depending on those two months to get you through the winter”.
Open since June 2000, Moher Hill Farm obtained a zoo licence in 2019. The bottom line “has never been as low” for the business, Martin admitted. “I was surprised at with our public representatives and some of them have been in business, they all rowed in and gave 100% support for raising the rates, I think it is very poor taste from Clare County Council”.
Patricia Farrell of Wilde Irish Chocolates operating out of Tuamgraney stated, “Increases are never a good thing especially at this time of a cost of living crisis. It is fairly difficult to manage with the cost increases. The minimum wage goes up every hour of the day, auto enrolment is coming down the track so for very small businesses with high costs to begin with, it would be worrying to think of what the impact of this will be”.
Between them, ESB and Uisce Éireann will now have an estimated rates bill of €936,536 for Clare County Council. “ESB has noted the decision by Clare County Council to increase commercial rates by 8% in the draft budget for 2026. The level of commercial rates is a matter for the local authority,” a spokesperson commented.
