Commercial rates to rise as Kilkenny adopts 'balanced' €136.4m budget

Kilkenny County Council’s annual budget for 2027, approved by elected members, represents an increase of €7 million, or 5.4%, on 2026, with the vast majority of additional expenditure going towards housing and roads.

The commercial rates increase is expected to generate an additional €995,000, although measures to protect smaller businesses will reduce the net additional income from the rates proposal to €845,000.

Businesses with an annual rates bill of €3,000 or less will have their increase limited to 2%, rather than the full 4%.

According to Kilkenny County Council, this measure will benefit 58% of commercial ratepayers across Kilkenny.

The average annual rates bill for businesses in this category is €1,433, with an average increase of €28.66 and a maximum increase of €60.

In its budget report, the Council states that a full rates waiver or reduction for smaller businesses would not be financially sustainable.

“The Council could not sustain the reduction in income that would arise from a full rates waiver/reduction for smaller businesses,” the report states.

“This would result in significant reductions in the discretionary expenditure included in the draft Budget.”

The Council also defended the overall rates increase, pointing out that it is only the fourth increase since 2008.

It said Kilkenny's rate multiplier remains 38% lower than Waterford, 21% lower than Carlow and 13% lower than Wexford.

The budget provides for a total commercial rates demand of €26.9 million, up €1.395 million on 2026, with €400,000 of that increase coming from new valuations and revisions.

Elsewhere, housing accounts for €4.5 million of the €7 million increase in expenditure. This includes an additional €1.8 million for housing maintenance and €1.9 million for the leasing programme.

Roads maintenance, car parking and public lighting will receive €34.9 million, an increase of €1.8 million.

Kilkenny County Council has also allocated an additional €255,000 towards Kilkenny's festivals and events programme, bringing the total budget to €625,000.

This includes €125,000 for the Home of Halloween, €50,000 for the Year of the Normans initiative and €41,000 for the Summit of the Cities event.

Investment in climate action will rise by €260,000 to €974,000, while library services will receive an additional €348,000.

The budget comes against a backdrop of significant inflation, with the Council highlighting a 28% increase in general inflation and construction tender prices rising by more than 45% since January 2020.

The Council is also facing a substantial funding challenge in delivering its ambitious €1 billion Capital Programme for 2025–2030.

Excluding housing, the programme requires €390.5 million in capital expenditure, with an estimated funding gap of €59.2 million.

In their concluding budget statement, Chief Executive Lar Power and Director of Finance Martin Prendiville described the financial plan as "a balanced and responsible approach to managing the Council's finances in the face of increasing costs and growing service demands".