Retail Ireland has urged all local authorities to give retailers a 10% rebate on their commercial rates bill.
Retail Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the retail sector, says it has written to the chairperson of every local authority as well as to all city and country managers to ask that retailers be given a 10% rebate on the rates bill paid last year and to also suspend upward revaluations where necessary.
The group says that over 30,000 retail jobs has been lost over the past year and the sector is struggling to avoid more redundancies over the coming months.
'Every local authority must play its part in the retail sector's efforts to regain lost competitiveness and safeguard employment,' commented Retail Ireland's director Torlach Denihan.
He says all the political parties have subscribed to the goal of regaining national competitiveness and Retail Ireland has sought their support because a rates rebate will help achieve this.
