Rates Waiver Scheme to Return in 2027 as Monaghan Fights Business 'Poaching'
Monaghan County Council's Rates Waiver Scheme, which waives up to €10,000 in rates for a year on long-vacant commercial units, is to enter a second phase in 2027, councillors heard on Monday.
By the Monaghan Brief staff·Edited by Seamus McKenna·Published · 2 min read
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The Diamond, Clones. Archive location photograph; not a photo of the events in this story. Mrgoggins90 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and colour-graded; cropped in layout.
Monaghan County Council's Rates Waiver Scheme, which offers up to €10,000 off a year's commercial rates for businesses that take over long-vacant premises, is to continue into a second phase in 2027.
"To consider and approve Rates Waiver Scheme 2027" was on the agenda for Monday's (2 November) monthly council meeting. Northern Sound reports the next phase received members' support and aims to support existing businesses and attract outside businesses to the county. Fine Gael Cllr Sean Gilliland told the station that security is one of the scheme's key aims, pointing to the threat of "poaching" of Monaghan businesses by other counties and jurisdictions.
How the 2026 scheme works
According to the council's scheme page, the 2026 scheme began on 5 January 2026 and covers:
newly established businesses;
businesses relocating or expanding from outside the county;
existing businesses expanding into a new location.
The premises must be commercially rated and must have been vacant for at least 12 calendar months. The waiver is 100% of rates for the first 12 months of trading, up to €10,000. Applicants must have no outstanding rates or council charges, and must pay by standing order or direct debit for at least 12 months after the waiver. A business can use the scheme only once in five years, unless it is expanding into a second vacant property.
The council had not published the details of the 2027 scheme when we checked.
Sources
This article is an original summary based on the following reporting. We encourage readers to visit the original sources for full coverage.
New Department of Housing figures show 21 more vacant or derelict Monaghan homes were finished and paid for under the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant between July and September, taking the county to 196 homes and €12.2 million since 2022.
Monaghan County Council had the lowest social housing vacancy rate in Ireland in 2025, at 0.52%, and the fastest turnaround of empty homes, at 11.61 weeks against a national average of more than 32, according to the national local government watchdog.
The council executive asked for a 25% local adjustment to raise about €369,000 more for its budget. Councillors voted unanimously to keep the 15% rate, citing the cost of living.
