Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
A MEMBER OF THE Bulgarian cabinet has said he will ask his government to suspend its ratification of the controversial EU copyright protection legislation known as ‘ACTA’.
Economy minister Traicho Traikov said today that he would push for the suspension until the EU has dealt with opposition to the legislation.
The European Commission says the legislation aims to harmonise international standards of copyright protection, particularly for products like films and music which are often pirated online. However, critics say that the legislation could curb internet freedom and freedom of expression.
Thousands of people turned out in European cities last week to protest the legislation.
Earlier today, Munster MEP Phil Prendergast criticised ACTA measures which would oblige ISPs to prevent copyright infringements, saying they raise serious concerns about the right to privacy, freedom of expression and the access to knowledge.
The Labour MEP said that ACTA was taken the wrong approach in its efforts to tackle copyright infringement.
“ACTA’s provisions on damage calculations in civil judicial disputes are also excessive and go beyond what is required under EU law,” she added.
So far, Germany, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have all held off on their ratification of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The European Parliament has yet to ratify the legislation and is due to debate it later this year.
- Additional reporting by the AP
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The rates are just mental. There must be a more creative way to collect money from shop owners? This system is broken and tired, we need a change if shops are to open again.
Agreed, remember aswell the levels of non payment of rates is very high. As far as I rem it’s approx one third non payment nationally with Waterford the highest at over 50%.
Give control of the high streets to the people who own and rent the buildings. Take it away from councillors. They the high streets would be revitalised.
Then…
How much are rates approx. I would of thought rents were the real big issue here. Cost/length if lease and so on.
With upward only rent reviews amazing how many high street landlord s wont reduce there rent
Brian, depends on area, Shopping centres in Sligo, rates are approx €9,000 to €10,000 depending on Sq footage of unit. Then there is a €10,000 service charge for the pleasure of been in a shopping centre! Rents are between €15,000 and €25,000.
Abolish rates and introduce a turnover tax instead – that way if the business community is suffering so do the councils. It would focus their minds on creating a better business environment.
Turnover tax? Do you know how business works?
In Sligo town its not just rates , its the fault of the existing businesses who have for years fought every new retailer trying to open in the town . I’m not surprised its gone like this , its destroyed the town , totally useless for shopping .
Martina, I blame poor planning, we didn’t and don’t need two shopping centres in such a small town. Both are now half empty, one would have been more than enough and should have been built in Wine street car park to keep the shopping area central and we know who to blame for that!
@Paul Smith – a turnover tax in high street retail shops would be better than a blanket rate tax based on square footage. The current system encourages high selling prices on low value products which hurts our competitiveness… you cannot blame the shops for charging high prices on these low value goods because they are taking up the floor space that councils are levying on.
Okay I get you. Maybe tax the profit margins rather than turnover though, as a shop could have a high turnover but be actually making a very small profit.
I think Rafter Street in Enniscorthy should get a mention. Although technically not the town’s Main Street, it was the main Shopping Street until the bust! Dunnes Stores, who can’t be held responsible for the imploding of our economy back in 2007/2008, have however, a lot to answer for the way the have left the largest retail unit(s) vacant in the centre of the street and refusing any development of the building or occupation by rival stores/businesses after moving to another part of town. It’s totally obliterated the street and hasn’t helped the rest of the town either. Recession aside, this could’ve been handled a lot better by them if they’d had even considered the interests of the town. Pity.
Yes, that’s a very good example and I was going to bring it up myself. Dunnes have wound up owning a huge chunk of one half of the town’s main shopping street and have it simply boarded up – refusing to let anyone else in. If you sell clothes, food, household goods, magazines, plates, cup, picture frames… basically if you intend your shop to sell “anything” then Dunnes seem to want to block them.
Enniscorthy also seems to have suffered, like a lot of other towns, I imagine, with a council top heavy with local business owners — who, again, seem predisposed to stopping new rivals from entering the town, with the town’s economy and employment only a secondary concern.
The Sligo chamber of commerce has ruined the town. Bunch of greedy feckers who have too much influence on decisions made in regards to rent, placement of Shop fronts and what shops can come to the town…
Jarrath the Chamber of Commerce does not decide on rents. What you are alluding to is a group, maybe members, maybe not, who have in the past objected to any outside retailers coming in to protect their own business interests. Not sure if it’s an urban myth or true. For the record, Landlords in the town have to take some blame as well as the rate collectors, as they were charging boom time rent and wouldn’t reduce and be practical and realistic about things. Absolute myopia. With the County Council up to their eyeballs in debt due to Lissadel, it’s unlikely rates will be cut.
Local Authorities are fully to blame for this with exorbitant rates and full refusal to reduce fees to keep SME’s in business.
Local authorities are crushed under the burden of massive pay & pension bills with no means of raising income.
Catch 22.
And here was me thinking that Ireland was on the way back to prosperity some body must be telling the nation lies. Listening to the government and beleaving them I must be a fool.
Paul….There is an election this Friday.
They will tell you anything….
I merchandise all over dublin and what i have noticed mostly is the small shopping centres, situated in residential areas are mostly vacant, its a pity, i remember years ago when they’d all be full
Also shopping centre off Talbot Street. And whole streets of local shops – like the Kenilworth crossroad – are mostly shuttered.
Good morning,
So to put this in perspective. If Grattan street was on a monopoly board, it’s colours would be brown and the cheapest available. Low rent incomes but hey, it’s a start. Any questions guys I’ll be dropping in and out throughout the day.
Best regards,
Adebayo.
What?
The reform of ratchet upward-only rents is long overdue. No other commercial tenants in the world have to endure up our feudal commercial property lease law i.e. ratchet upward-only rents tied to 35 year leases. The average length of commercial property lease in all other countries is 3-5 years.
I remember enda and fine gael at last election buying votes by promising to tackle rates and upwards only rent. Just another promise broken. Show them what you think with your ballot card
Enda a provision was brought in in 2009 prohibiting upwards only from February 2009. New leases after this date cannot be upwards only. Govt needs to tackle legacy leases entered into before this date though, still an issue for some.
*John even!
Freudian Slip, I was giving out to Inda in my head :)
Even a struggling, on the brink business, has to pay crippling rates.
Somebody has to pay for the councillors expenses and junkets. London has the same beautiful street light painted black for 100 years — Dunlaghoire Rathdown change theirs as the fashion dictates. 5 different styles of street lights at the Dart station alone. The councils also give planning to shopping centres on the outskirts of towns which kill local business as shown in the US, UK and a lot if European countries. Look above the shops and the little businesses that were there, small insurance business, opticians, etc , Tesco copied Walmart and targeted these as soon as the shops at street level were gone. Now Tesco UK sell everything in most their stores and employ a minimum of people. Some French towns have a much better system and nearly full employment in those areas.
Commercial rates, parking charges, one way street systems, out of town shopping and the Internet have been and will continue to be a lethal force for continued demise of all town centres.
Get rid of town councils for a start – too many of them on that gravy train – esp. In a small country like the Republic. Like it or lump it, at the end of the day, town centres are set to be a thing of the past. The question is if we don’t get rid of town councils how will they make up the deficit from the loss of high commercial rates? I can see it coming down the line – can you ?
And of course, in Sligo, rates will only increase due to Cllr Joe Leonard’s pathetic and futile Lissadell house campaign. Sure why not saddle the council with debts of €8 million over some pot-holed old roads? You know, while the town is dying?
The rates aren’t the only problem with Ireland’s main streets. The building types in a lot of situations just aren’t economically up to standard for modern retail. They are generally small shops with small square footage, often too small to make it worthwhile including a stairs to offer access to the second floor, and little space is available to the rear for storage. This means only shops selling smaller goods like makeup, phone shops, book shops and the like who can have a large amount of stock in a small place can operate out of them. Then there’s the question of how many such shops can exist on the one street? It means the council needs a little more creativity when it comes to these streets and applying rates. Adjust the rates to allow for smaller turnover businesses like small cafés, artisan shops, craft shops etc that make small profits but find the space available more suitable to their needs. Few main streets in the regions can accomodate a H&M or a TKMAXX. They shouldn’t be charging rates aimed at that market.
Even if the shop is close down the greedy land lord is still getting paid rent . The lease is binding the poor ex tenant is getting screwed with little or no way out of it
Unless you are a multinational with a very large turnover there is no doubt the cost of renting is prohibitive for many local busines owners,combined with the high taxes and charges on peoples incomes,and lack of movement on the crazy 30/40 year upward only rents, its little surprise at all that large sections of retail space are lying idle,
Sligo is a city not a town.
Just saying.
They are letting any glorified village be called a city it seems!
A dump more like it.
A city, is it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sligo
They obviously haven’t been to edenderry in offaly….
How did Nyberg miss the elephant in the room:
Commercial Property lease lengths in Finland 3 years
Commercial Property lease lengths in Ireland 35 years
It’s easy to blame others, but the real problem is that many people don’t care enough to shop local. If we all do some of our shopping locally, we will keep our town centres; if we do not, we will not. People say it’s more expensive – well, of course it is going to be cheaper to shop in a massive multi-national that does not care about fairness in paying workers, producers, farmers etc – but only about the lowest price. However those prices are artificially and immorally low in my view. If we don’t value our town centre shops and shop in them, they will disappear and we will just be left with large stores on the periphery of towns, like in the US. The way to go with town centres shops is not multi-national – you can’t compete with the Dundrums of this world – but more artisan quality food and hospitality (at least that is what the guy from Retail Ireland said at the talk I heard)… Butler’s Panty and Avoca foodstores are the fastest growing retailers in Ireland apparently. So how about more local, artisan, quality food experiences, pop-up shops and restaurants, etc in our town centres – could inject a little vibrancy.
Correct me if I’m wrong anyone, I heard (maybe it’s BS) it’s a condition of tescos that pay parking be installed in a town before they open a supermarket on the outskirts of that town. So it’s more convent to drive to tesco have free parking and do your shopping than try park in town and have to pay for it.
In Sligo, Tesco is on O’Connell St, right in the centre of town, not on the outskirts. Tesco is not to blame.
@Seamus I don’t really care if it’s a city or town. The reason I ask is because when you drone into sligo from bun doran the sign say “welcome to sligo, the gateway City”. And if I were you I’d stay away from Wikipedia unless it’s all you can manage.
when did we start using the term on the high street, High streets are called main streets in ireland
This is partly explained by the modern growth of retail parks outside traditional shopping areas where free parking is a given and larger units mean greater choice.
This is partly explained by the modern growth of retail parks outside traditional shopping areas where free parking is a given and larger units mean greater choice for the shopper. Nothing you can do about it.
Shuttered shops are a blight on the layout of any town for locals and tourists alike. Some fresh thinking is needed. Could the vacant premises not be made available for community groups to organise events, meeting places, information centres or exhibitions until the property is rented again. A voluntary committee could vet the proposals for usage by the community groups. I’d expect insurance would be an issue but perhaps they can be some way around that. Surely this is better for a city than to witness heartless shutters and vacant premises becoming run down.
have your say