Flood-hit businesses in Co Cork may be able to claim cut in rates

She said the council has been unable to make a provision in its budget for such ‘compensation’ next year but will introduce it in 2026 — which is when major flood prevention works in Bantry are expected to get underway.

Ms Morell said the council will continue to engage with businesses that are struggling due to flooding to make rates bills easier to pay.

She acknowledged the proposed flood prevention scheme for Bantry will be “big, costly, and complex”.

Bantry-based Independent councillor Danny Collins called for a rates waiver for the 37 businesses impacted by flooding on October 5.

He said it is the fifth time many of them had been flooded since 2020 and some are getting to the stage where they can’t survive much longer.

He said the proposed installation of new culverts in 2026 will be extremely disruptive to businesses in the centre of the town and he appealed for reduced rates during the upheaval.

Fine Gael councillor Noel O’Donovan said he’d been told by engineers that the installation of the culverts is a major project. He added: 

The level of frustration and anger is understandable. The businesses want certainty and timelines. 

This was echoed by Independent councillor Finbarr Harrington, who suggested that a special liaison group be set up in Bantry to feed accurate information to locals on timelines for project works.

The Mayor of County Cork, Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Carroll, claimed the proposed scheme is so complex “there will be no business done in some parts of the town for 12 months". 

He praised the actions of county council staff, the fire brigade and civil defence units, many of whom got no sleep for more than 24 hours tackling the latest flooding.

Independent councillor Alan Coleman said the county council shouldn’t be expected to carry the financial loss of rates reductions, and the cost must be borne by central government.

Both he and Mr O’Donovan maintained the Department of Finance should carry the burden.