BUT FURTHER RATES SUPPORT VITAL FOR COVID-19 RECOVERY SAY CO COUNCILLORS
Co Monaghan has led the country in the effectiveness of the implementation of the Restart Grant initiative to aid businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Monday’s meeting of Monaghan Co Council was told. Head of Finance John Murray said that the grant initiative had worked out very well in Co Monaghan with €9.3 million going to the businesses in the county.
While councillors welcomed the success of the scheme, they united in calling for an extension of rates support measures for Monaghan businesses and enterprises as they prepared for the reopening of the economy in the coming months, warning that many would face cash flow problems as they set about attempting to reopen their doors. The meeting passed a motion from Fine Gael’s Seán Gilliland, seconded by his party colleague David Maxwell, calling on the Government to introduce a new grant or loan scheme to help businesses secure cashflow and retain employment when they commenced trading again in the postlockdown period.
Regarding the Restart Grant’s implementation in the county, Mr Murray told the meeting that the Co Council had set up its own system with the help of its IT section and their rate collectors had contacted all ratepayers in the county with regard to the scheme. Mr Murray said Monaghan was the first county in the country to complete this process, and the 75% rates waiver that applied to the majority of Monaghan ratepayers in 2020 was another real benefit to them. €6.3 million had been…
