A Waterford Councillor says the local authority needs to suspend rates for businesses who have been affected by the coronavirus.
Sinn Fein's Conor McGuinness told WLR News that “the normal footfall that we would expect to see is down considerably and this is very worrying for businesses”.
“Many have had to close their doors, we have seen a huge number of people laid off across Waterford.
“What we are calling for is a commercial rates holiday for hospitality, tourism, retail and the SME sector. We may have to remember small and medium enterprises are the biggest single employer in the state. They are the backbone of our economy, especially outside of the greater Dublin area in places like Waterford City and County.”
He says the government needs to make funding available to ensure businesses and local government can continue.
“A rates holiday on its own won't solve the problem but it will be a help and its something that we can do.
“My colleagues have been speaking with national government, we're adamant that businesses should be given a break on their commercial rates for a period of time, maybe three months.
“The central exchequer will have to come in and fund local government in the mean time.
“This is too important, we can't allow our economy to fail but we have to take the very sensible precautions to ensure public health.
“Government needs to make that funding available to keep local government going, to keep local businesses going and to keep people safe.”
