153. Deputy David Maxwell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he has considered introducing measures to support riding centres in meeting commercial rates liabilities, including the possibility of subsidising such centres or reclassifying them as agricultural rather than commercial; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23516/26]

Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by Tailte Éireann under the Valuation Act 2001, as amended and I, as Minister, have no function in this regard.

The amount of rates liable on a property is determined by multiplying the valuation of the property set by Tailte Éireann by the Annual Rate on Valuation (ARV) set by the local authority.  The ARV is decided by the elected members of each local authority in their annual budget and its determination is a reserved function of a local authority.

The Local Government Rates and Other Matters Act 2019 which was commenced in late 2023, adds to the suite of options already available to local authorities to support local businesses and ratepayers.  Local authorities are levying and collecting rates under this new legal framework since 1 January 2024.

Section 15 of the Act provides for individual local authorities to make schemes to support local and national policy objectives, by waiving rates in certain circumstances.  The elected members have discretion to introduce waiver schemes that support objectives outlined in either county development plans, local area plans, local economic and community plans or indeed the National Planning Framework.  Regulations to support the making of rates waiver schemes require a local authority to consult with the public in its administrative area in relation to its consideration of the making of (or change to an existing) rates waiver scheme.

It is open for each local authority to design waiver schemes as they see fit as long as they support any of the above policies. The budgetary impact of any waiver decision will also have to be managed by the elected members when making budget decisions for the following year; any reduction in income coming from rates will need to be factored into the overall budget planning.