A government minister has claimed he and his wife “simply couldn’t afford” a commercial rates bill of more than €15,800 for their pub after a local authority had a judgment registered against their business.

Galway County Council obtained the judgment against Gate Lodge Properties Limited, which is owned by Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development Ciarán Cannon and his wife, Niamh Lawless.

The company operates the Gate Lodge Pub in Carrabane – a small village between Athenry and Loughrea. The couple have run the pub since 1999.

The company has run up an outstanding commercial rates bill of €15,823. Mr Cannon explained that they “simply couldn’t afford” the rates bill that was accrued during the economic recession, but said they remain committed to paying the money owed.

The Fine Gael TD earns €129,854 per annum as a junior minister, and employs his wife Niamh as his secretarial assistant on a State-paid salary of up to €44,726 a year.

Mr Cannon said he expects the pub’s rates bill to drop substantially once a review of commercial rates in the county is finished.

“The Valuation Office in Dublin determines our rates bill based on a rudimentary measurement of the trading area of the building…[rather than] the current capacity of the pub to generate an income.

“So, big pub equals a very big bill – currently €5,600 per annum,” said Mr Cannon.

“The Valuation Office is about to revalue all commercial premises in Co Galway…From speaking to officials in that office, I’m told that our new annual rates bill will be approximately €1,000.

“That will make everything much more manageable, thus allowing us to pay back our rates debt even quicker.”

Mr Cannon criticised the rates system in the Seanad in 2010, and voted for legislation in March 2015 that expedited the revaluation of commercial properties for rating purposes by the Valuation Office.

He told this newspaper that the couple had bought the Gate Lodge with a loan from AIB of €300,000 in 1999.

“At the time, it was trading well, turning over just under €150,000 per annum,” he said.

“Fast forward to 2018 and things have changed drastically, to the point where our annual turnover is now €52,000.”

Mr Cannon said his wife works in the pub most nights and draws no salary from the company. He said they are meeting representatives from AIB this week to discuss restructuring the loan. “We’re not confident of a positive outcome,” he added.

He said the pub’s rates were paid “consistently” until 2011, when it was hit by the recession and other challenges faced by rural pubs.

He said a payment arrangement with the council was agreed in 2016, which is intended to cover the annual rates bill and “begin paying back the debt”.

“We are fully intent on continuing this arrangement and Galway County Council is aware of this,” he added.

The council, which registered the judgment for €15,823 last week, did not respond to a request for comment.

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