Councillors in Kerry were strongly critical yesterday of a proposed increase in commercial rates which they said would mean the county's rural ratepayers were paying the highest rates in the country.
Cllr Michael Gleeson said businesses in rural Kerry were already battling the problems of peripherality. The increases of 4.75 per cent were "inordinately high".
Small rural publicans were already paying thousands of euro in rates and would now be driven to closure, Fine Gael councillor Bobby O'Connell warned.
"We have the second-highest commercial rates in the country after Limerick city. Have we got the second-best level of services? Small pubs are paying €4,500 a year in rates. They are not making that money. They can't pay any increases," Cllr O'Connell said.
Independent Fianna Fáil councillor Danny Healy-Rae called for a freeing up of planning permission to expand the rate base of the county.
It is also proposed to increase water charges by 5 per cent.