This article is from page 28 of the 2012-12-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 28 JPG
SHANNON business is set to relocate to Ennis next Monday as hardpressed rate-payers in the airport town take their fight for survival and a better deal from Clare County Council to the December monthly meeting of the local authority.
Business people from Shannon, led by their three-person team of Skycourt manager Pat Kelly and business owners Eoin Hoctor of McLoughney’s newsagents in the town centre and Maurice Lynch of Lynch Transport, will bring the town’s plea for help to the floor of the local authority meeting that takes place in Shannon Airport.
The trio are set to make a presentation to local authority leaders in the hope of sparking what would be a ground-breaking policy shift by Clare County Council, whereby the commercial rates burden placed on business people would be significantly reduced.
Speaking to The Clare People ahead of the gathering, Pat Kelly said “this is about businesses in Shannon being able to survive” and called on the 32-member council led by Mayor of Clare Pat Daly, County Manager Tom Coughlan and other executive members to “play their part in help- ing business fight the recession”.
“It’s the first time in a long time that business representatives will be making a special presentation in the council chamber and we’re doing it because things have to change,” continued Mr Kelly.
“This is about businesses in Shannon surviving. The council and the councillors make the budget every year and we are just making the point to them that over the past five years every business has had to adjust to survive.
“Every business has had to cut their overheads – any business that hasn’t, hasn’t survived. There have been cuts in everything, but the one thing that hasn’t been cut is commercial rates. We are saying to the local authority – you are a business, we are a business, we have cut our overheads, you have to cut your overheads in order for us to survive.
“The rates have remained the same over the past four or five years, but businesses have had turnover reductions of 30, 40 and 50 per cent. Skycourt have cut our service charge costs by 25 per cent, we’ve cut our rents, but the one thing that hasn’t been cut is the rates. That’s the biggest deterrent for Skycourt to be able to rent units,” he added.
This decision by Shannon business people to make a direct plea for help from Clare’s premier decision-making body comes on the back of a series of public meetings that have taken place in the town, where disgruntled rate-payers aired their grievances over the county council’s failure to budge when it comes to reducing rates.
The latest meeting took place on Monday night when the finishing touches to the plan of campaign for next Monday’s council meeting were put in place, while as part of the process of seeking redress from the council on rates as seen a delegation of rate-payers meet with County Manager Tom Coughlan and Clare’s six Oireachtas members.