Councilor Michael KilcoyneA MEMBER of Mayo County Council has called for a radical review of commercial rates in light of the revelation over €9.3 million has been written off as bad debts by the four local authorities in Mayo over the past three years in respect of the non-payment of bills.

Independent Councillor Michael Kilcoyne said the situation had become very serious because rates were putting many vulnerable businesses to the pin of their collars.

The Castlebar-based representative stated: “In many case, the rates some retailers and industrialists are being charged could prove the difference being staying in business or closing down.

 

“It’s very worrying in view of the fact the dole queues are already exceedingly long and priority has to go to protecting existing jobs.

“The issue also raised serious questions for Mayo County Council and the three town councils in the county.

“If they have collectively written off such a mind boggling amount since 2009, it clearly shows why services have been hit so badly.

“The public can no longer expect simple jobs like pothole repairs to be carried out because the money is not there.”

Councillor Kilcoyne has also raised concerns over the imminent closure of community welfare offices and garda stations throughout the county due to sweeping government cutbacks.

Representations have already been made to him over the loss of a community welfare officer in Ballyvary and Ross, near Castlebar, while the garda station in Ballyvary has been earmarked for closure. He further revealed the post boxes put in place at Ballyheane and Ballintubber to replace the former post offices in the villages could not accept A4 size envelopes.

“It’s a very sad reflection on a county that elected four Fine Gael TDs in last February’s general election. And the bad news is that it is going to get worse,” he added.