Cost of Doing Business

The main costs of doing business that are charged by local authorities are in respect of commercial rates, water charges and planning contributions.

County Monaghan has a total of five local authorities, with each setting its own rate for commercial rates and planning contributions, while a standard scheme of water charging is applied across the county.

Commercial Rates

Rates are a commercial charge levied on the occupiers of commercial and industrial property and are charged on an annual basis. Local authorities collect rates based on property valuations. Property valuations are provided by the Valuation Office, a state agency. Valuations are based on four key criteria:

• The potential rental value of the property
• The size of the unit
• The use of the space, i.e. retail/office/industrial/warehousing/pub, etc.
• Comparisons with other typical units.

The Annual Rate of Valuation (ARV) is decided each year by the elected members of the local authority or town council and is normally based on the estimated expenditure that the local authority will incur in the coming year.

As there are five local authorities within the county, each of these authorities has determined their own ARV, the figure for each authority is detailed below.

2012 ARV rates for Monaghan Local Authorities

€56.20 Monaghan County Council

€72.00 Monaghan Town Council

€65.55 Carrickmacross Town Council

€56.00 Castleblayney Town Council

€59.50 Clones Town Council

Typical calculation example: If your property has been valued at €20.00 by the Valuation Office, the commercial rates for the year will be calculated as €20.00 x €56.20 = €1124 (Monaghan County Council)

Water Charges

The standard charges for water and wastewater across the county are:

Water consumption - €1.01 per cubic metre

Wastewater consumption - €1.10 per cubic metre

Consolidated charge - €2.11 per cubic metre

Details of specific water and waste water charges are detailed in Manager’s Order WS 01/12 which can be viewed at the following link >>

Fees for wastewater discharge are provided at the following link >>

Planning Development Contributions

Development Contributions are a once off charge for all developments that are attached to a grant of planning permission. The county and the towns of Monaghan, Carrickmacross, Castleblayney and Clones have separate development contribution schemes. These can be viewed at the following link: http://www.monaghan.ie/contentv3/services/planning/developmentcontributionschemes/#d.en.3546

Planning permission application fees for commercial / industrial development

Minimum fee of €80 for each building, or €3.60 for each square metre of gross floor space to be provided, whichever is the greater.

Retention permission: Minimum fee of €240 for each building, or €10.80 for each square metre of gross floor space to be provided, whichever is the greater.

(Planning and Development Regulations, 2001)