Sports clubs in Laois ‘shouldn’t have to raise money just to pay rates’

Sports clubs in Laois “shouldn’t have to raise money just to pay rates” according to Fianna Fáil Councillor Paschal McEvoy.

Cllr McEvoy asked that the Council call on the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to consider granting sports clubs in County Laois a Rates Exemption.

Cllr McEvoy is the Treasurer for Laois GAA and used his experience on the County Board to give specific examples of how these rates affect sporting organisations.

“A number of years ago, there was a review done all over the country and Laois GAA came in under that heading and we were rated at €32,000 a year in rates,” he said.

“I accept if you have a bar you should be paying rates, but we don’t have anything like that.

“Everything that comes in goes back out in improving tge facilities for the general public.

“While we might show a profit in one year, we could show a massive deficit the following year – that’s just the way the system works.

“Over the last number of years, we have developed massively and we still don’t have enough room.

“We’re coming into a process now, which is going to happen within the next five years I’d imagine, where we would be fully integrated with both Laois Camogie and the Ladies Footballers.

“For that to work in Laois were going to need to get more land and more facilities. We’re backed up there every week as it is, even though we have three pitches at the Centre of Excellence.

“We have to provide most of the funding through our own means, such as match gates and different fundraisers, like the County Board draw.

“It’s a bit mad that we’re fundraising to pay rates, it doesn’t make sense to me.

“We’re not a business, we’re a voluntary organisation which provides entertainment and sports facilities for the whole county.

“When there’s a big match and we get 20,000 people (into O’Moore Park), we only get 15% of the income – the rest goes back to Central Government.

“But how many hotel beds are taken that weekend around the town? How many pubs and restaurants are full for the whole weekend?

“We shouldn’t have to raise money just to pay rates.”

The proposal was strongly endorsed by Independent Councillors Aisling Moran and Tommy Mulligan under the proviso that the rates exemptions would apply to all sports clubs, not just Laois GAA.

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