No Increase In Commercial Rates For Clare Next Year As Budget 2023 Approved By Councillors

Picture © Clare County Council

There’ll be no increase in commercial rates for businesses in Clare next year.

Local representatives gathered in the Council Chamber this afternoon to approve the Draft Budget for 2023.

Clare County Council expenditure is projected to increase to nearly 152 million euro next year, – a more than 13 million increase on last year.

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Road Transport & Safety and Housing and Building are the two biggest areas of expense, at a combined 97.5 million euro.

This means an additional 3.8m will be spent on housing, while an additional 4.1m has been allocated for roads and transport.

The budget was formulated on the basis that commercial rates would not increase, following the 3.8% increase approved last year.

However, funding allocated for the General Municipal Allowance (GMA) of each district has been slashed by almost €265,000, while there’s also been a 20% reduction in community funding.

CEO of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling, prefaced the announcement by describing the current economic challenges as ‘unprecedented’ and something which this generation has never had to face before.

The energy market was a key concern for the council, with a predicted bill of almost €6m for 2023 – for heating, electricity, public lighting and rolling stock fuel.

The budget received unanimous approval, despite concerns being flagged by a number of local representatives regarding the potential impact reduced funding may have on rural areas of Clare.