A COUNTY councillor claimed today that the true cost of unpaid rates to Donegal County Council is an astonishing €13M – half of the annual rates bill.
Cllr Ian McGarvey said his own estimates included assessments of unpaid bills from 2009 and 2010.
He said the rate demand for last year was €21.1M with €6.5M owed from the previous year.
Officially the Council reports arrears running at 36% of the total owed; Cllr McGarvey claims this is more like 50%.
He called for a full council debate on the issue including the decision not to send revenue collectors to businesses anymore.
“We need to realistically assess what can be done to improve the opportunity for the business sector to operate more successfully,” said McGarvey.
Meanwhile Donegal County Council’s capital expenditure for the year will be just €70M, well down on previous years.
