Rates levied by Naas Town Council have increased every year and the three Fine Gael councillors have pledged to campaign against a rates increase.

Commercial rates make up about half of the money taken in by the council and councillors are coming under intense pressure to ensure the rates bill is cut.

Chamber member Peter Mahon said the town centre has been desecrated and added: "There will be no business in the centre of Naas in twelve months' time. We should insist on a rates decrease."

He felt it is inevitable that there will be more vacant premises in Naas.

"I'm not being smart but it will be a choice between barbers or tattoo artists," he told a meeting called by Naas Chamber.

Over the years, he said, businesses have been seen as a soft touch by local authorities. "We've been taken for a ride," he stated.

Publican Ger Farragher criticised the absence of council officials from the meeting and said there is a large gap between what people are suffering in the downturn and what is understood by public servants.

Referring to the town council he said: "We need a bit of help from them, we're helping them for long enough."

Cllr. Darren Scully said the Fine Gael councillors will put up a "very very strong argument" against a rates increase. "If we can get a freeze it will be the first ever. I would like to see a cut of !0% but the money the council will get from central funds will be cut but the demands on the council for housing and services will be the same," added Cllr. Scully.

He said that if the public service pay bill is reduced by 10% this money will be retained by the government and none of it would be passed to Naas Town Council.

Chamber president Allan Shine said the amount of rates actually collected by the council is down by 70% and he had lobbied for rates on government buildings to be levied.

Fianna Fail TD Michael Fitzpatrick said a rates freeze would be "a great help" and he suggested that the Chamber meet with senior council officials to make a strong case about rates bills.

"We are in a serious recession and something out of the ordinary needs to be done. At the same time you don't want the council to be abolished," Said Dep. Fitzpatrick.

More than twenty years the then Naas Urban District Council was abolished when a majority of the councillors refused to approve a budget which included water and bin charges. This prompted the removal from office of the council and the councillors were replaced with a civil servant from the Department of the Environment.