A new lobby group has called on the Government to reform the commercial rates system, describing it as the silent killer of small business in Ireland.
Irish Employers for Affordable Rates (IEAR) is a nationwide organisation which is backed by ISME, RGDATA and the Irish Hotels Federation.
The group says rates have increased by 47% over the past ten years and are not sustainable.
Economist Jim Power, who was commissioned by the group to examine the issue, says that while some business costs like wages have reduced, rates are not reacting to the changing economic environment.
The group is calling for the the introduction of an appeals system to allow objections to rates, along with action from the Government to change the way local authorities are funded.
Mr Power says the proportion of funding local authorities receive from commercial rates has increased over the past decade as exchequer funding has fallen.
Chairman of the IEAR, former Wexford hurling manager John Conran, says employers are willing to pay rates, but that the current system is inequitable and commercial rates are unaffordable to many struggling businesses.
