CITY COUNCIL OWED 16 MILLION IN UNPAID RATES

Date Published: 15-May-2012

Galway City Council is owed more than sixteen million euro in unpaid commercial rates from last year alone.

During 2011, the council was paid in respect of just sixty-two per cent of commercial rates due according to its financial statement which was presented to members this week.

The statement also revealed that it used up four point six million euro of a fourteen million overdraft facility in the first three months of this year.

The meeting of City Councillors heard that two point two million euro of those outstanding bills concerns companies that are currently in liquidation or receivership, which the council hopes may be partially paid eventually.

The council is pursuing commercial property owners through the courts for another four million of that amount, and has already obtained legal decrees ordering the repayment of another two million.