COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, November 08, 2021

QUESTION NO 5.

QUESTION: Councillor David McManus

To ask the Chief Executive the total amount received by SDCC under the commercial rates waiver, the amount given by SDCC under the restart grant and if a statement can be made on these items?

REPLY:

Commercial Rates Waiver

Circulars Fin 11/2020 and Fin 16/2020 announced a six month and three month waiver, respectively, of Commercial Rates for 2020. They allowed for a 100% waiver for a 9 month period in the year for all businesses, with a small number of categories excepted. The value of these waiver schemes to South Dublin County Council for 2020 was €59,229,298.

In January 2021, a new Commercial Rates waiver scheme for the First Quarter (Q1) of 2021 was announced in Circular Fin 1/2021. This was a more tailored scheme and applied to businesses closed by, or badly impacted by, Level 5 restrictions and a number of eligible categories were detailed within the scheme.

This scheme was extended for Quarter 2 of 2021 and Quarter 3 2021, under Circulars Fin 5/2021 and Fin 14/2021. The value of the waiver schemes applied up to the end of Quarter 3 2021 for South Dublin County Council is €24,934,170.95 and benefited 2,298 properties.

A standalone waiver scheme for Q4 of 2021 has recently been announced by the Government under Circular Fin 20/2021, it will be a targeted waiver to support certain sectors. The broad categories eligible are as follows:

The three-month waiver will be applied to eligible businesses in Quarter 4 of 2021 and will take the form of a credit in lieu of rates. The value of the waiver is equivalent to the value of 25% of the annual rate bill for 2021.

Restart Grant Scheme

The total value of grants awarded under the Restart Grant and Restart Grant Plus schemes, including any top ups, amounted to €30,853,949 across 3,701 applications.

The initial Restart Grant scheme opened on 22nd May 2020 and closed for applications on 22nd July 2020.

The Restart Grant Plus scheme was announced by Government as part of the July Stimulus package. It opened for applications on 10th August 2020 and closed on 31st October 2020.

Additional top up supports were also announced for eligible businesses; “Wet Pub” top-up of 40% on 28th August 2020 (public houses where food is not available), Level 3 restriction 30% top-up on 21st September 2020 (all businesses) and Level 3 extension 20% top-up on 7th October 2020 (all businesses). These schemes are now all closed.