Council’s rate write-offs almost treble

Cavan County Council wrote off €619,964 in commercial rates in 2023, almost trebling the figure recorded the year previous.

It was the highest figure in terms Rates Write Offs since 2020, and just short of the levels reported in 2019 (€624,117). The figures for 2024 have not yet been finalised.

Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes. Commercial rates are only written off by local authorities after the council has exhausted all means of collecting outstanding amounts owing, and it is considered that those outstanding amounts are irrecoverable.

The Cavan authority wrote off €442,027 in commercial rates in 2020; €322,499 in 2021; and €243,068 in 2022.

By comparison, Monaghan County Council wrote off €274,239 in rates in 2023, compared to €351,842 in 2022. The Farney county had write-offs totalling €323,810 in 2019, €467,355 in 2020, and €351,842 in 2021.

Elsewhere, Leitrim wrote of €15,766 in rates in 2023, a fraction of the €215,458 written off in 2022; while Longford County Council wrote off €14,911 compared to €19,036. Their rates write-off bills is substantially down in recent years, from a height of €242,361 in 2019.

Meath though, like many others, has seen the level of write-offs increase, up to €902,929 in 2023 from €752,436 the year before, and the highest its been at in four years.

More positive, however, is that the total rates arrears outstanding and owed to Cavan County Council has been “reducing substantially” year on year, according to a spokesperson.

The total balance owed to the council at the end of 2023 was €2.5M, down by more than a quarter from €3,419,727 (2022). The arrears owned in 2021 amounted to €3,650,209.

Arrears in Monaghan for 2023 sat at €2,356,756, up from €1,951,292; were €3,234,344 in Leitrim (up from €3,017,049); €1,200,532 (€859,942) in Longford; and €2,087,757 in Meath (€2,556,309).