Cork public asked to discuss commercial rates

The Green Party in Cork has encouraged the public to have their say on rates paid by owners of vacant commercial properties in the city.

Cork City Council currently gives property owners a 50% reduction in commercial rates when a property is empty, and a public consultation is now open on whether this scheme should continue or be modified in some way.

The latest GeoDirectory Commercial Vacancy Rates Report shows that around 12.4% of commercial properties in Cork were vacant in June 2024.

Green Party councillor, Oliver Moran, said he believes that the current scheme acts in a way to encourage vacancy.

“The argument for the reduced rates scheme is not to charge property owners when a business is idle.

“Unfortunately, like with housing, there seems to be an interest in keeping some commercial properties empty,” he said.

He explained that other urban local authorities have been moving away from the idea of giving a reduction to owners to keep a property empty, with Dublin City Council doing away with this altogether.

“It’s possible to apply the scheme in a more nuanced way too, so that it’s not just a blanket 50% reduction,” Mr Moran added.

“The consultation that’s open now is asking the public for their opinions in a very open-ended way.

“This will feed into the eventual decision on commercial rates in the city budget in November,” he said.

Members of the public are invited to share their views by email to vacancy@corkcity.ie before Monday, September 30.