Charities ‘not engaging’

MOST CHARITIES across County Wexford have failed to engage with the council over potential rates bills.

This is what Head of Finance Annette O’Neill said during a heated Wexford County Council debate on a motion by Cllr David Hynes last week in County Hall, in which he called on the council to look again at the method it adopts regarding rates on properties used by charities. He said the charities have to go to the Valuation Office to get a waiver to exempt them for the purposes of paying rates. ‘This is causing concern to the bona fide charities in Wexford as many are being told they still have to pay.’

He said councillors made a decision at the budget meeting and the issue has come to a head. Questioning the layout of the exemption forms charities have to fill out, Cllr Hynes said some have been told they will have to pay €6,000, adding that the cost of making the application for an exemption is €250.

‘There is no guarantee they won’t have to pay. This is the problem when you farm out all services. We should be making the decision as we know the genuine charities.’

Ms O’Neill said: ‘I was approached by councillors to increase levies. All we are doing here is bringing them in line with other ratepaying businesses in the county. Some of these were not bona fide charities.’

She said the exemption applies only to charities who are not competing with other business owners.

‘We advised all 76 charities on our books and we gave them 12 months and very few of them did anything about it. We told them in a letter and we sent out a rates bill for 2018 and now all hell is breaking loose. We are not asking them to do anything different than what other ratepayers have to do.’

Ms O’Neill said four charities have vacated their properties, 21 have applied to the Valuation Office and four of them have gone back to paying rates. ‘Fifty-one have made no attempt,’ she said.

The motion was deferred.