Manna charity shop could be closed by Christmas due to council rates
By Mary Dennehy
A CHARITY shop in Tallaght that supports communities and funds family intervention programmes has this week said that it will be closed by Christmas due to council rates.
Based in the Brookfield Enterprise Centre for the past four years, the Manna charity shop has grown from grass roots level and is a joint partnership between the local branch of YMCA and the Tallaght Family Church.
Run by a team of volunteers and Tus and CE workers, Manna is a not-for- profit organisation, which, a registered charity, provides high quality and affordable clothing for local families while also providing training opportunities and a network for local women.
Any profits made in the shop are also directed into tailored intervention activities for all parents and children living in the area – such as the Oasis Counselling Centre and YMCA’s PAKT (Parents and Kids Together) programme.
However, this week, those involved with Manna have told The Echo that there is no future for the charity shop if they are forced to continue paying rates.
Brian Murtagh, of YMCA, told The Echo: “Manna will have to close at the end of the year after nearly four years serving the communities of West Tallaght.
“The profits, small as they were, were spent on family support by the two organisations that formed a partnership to run Manna.
“[However] it will no longer be able to afford to pay for overheads [despite being] a shop which has government agencies queuing up to place people under the Tus scheme and the CE schemes due to the high quality of work experience it gives to staff.”
He added: “Manna is a charity shop like few others.
“It’s a real service to many people some of whom are struggling to make ends meet, some who are not.
“People are networked through the shop and occasionally referred to local support services.
“It’s truly a priceless place but our political leaders have put an impossible price on our Manna shop.
“We will have to close it down and political leadership may neither notice nor care.”
Speaking with The Echo, John McEvoy, a senior leader with Tallaght Community Church, said that the council has been billing the shop for rates since 2015.
“As a charity we should be exempt from rates, we are a not-for-profit organisation… and have no paid staff”, Mr McEvoy said.
According to Mr McEvoy, the first rates bill in 2015 was for around €4,500, a figure which was reduced to €2,350 after an appeal was lodged.
“We paid the amount due for 2015 only this year and are now getting a letter concerning what’s owed for 2016”, Mr McEvoy said.
According to Mr McEvoy, a surplus of €3,500 was made in 2015, after rent, utilities and other expenses, which together totalled around €8,000, were paid.
Mr McEvoy, who lodged a full financial report with the council, said that all of this surplus was directed into community programmes.
In 2016, the shop ran a loss of around €1,000 however, Mr Evoy said that the finances had picked up in 2017.
“This is a community project that is helping the social landscape in Brookfield… with all of our activities open to the entire community, there is no requirement to be a member of the church.”
He added: “We want to work in partnership with the council and offer community intervention but we can’t do that with the council standing over us.
“These rates tip the balance significantly for us.”
When contacted by The Echo, South Dublin County Council said: “It is normal for charities to pay rates on shops, and this has always been the case.
“Any property which has a Rateable Valuation determined by the Valuation Office, which is independent of local authorities, is liable for rates.”
The spokeswoman added: “Once it’s for profit, the question of competing with existing businesses arises, and this would appear to be the basis for not exempting them.
“Bear in mind it is not the council which determines eligibility or otherwise for exemption, but the Valuation Office which is charged with implementing the terms of the Valuation Act 2001.”
