PRESS RELEASE | REVEALED: FINANCE MINISTER JOHN O’DOWD HANDED OVER £770,000 IN RATES EXEMPTION TO GENOCIDE-PROFITEERS CATERPILLAR UNDER THE INDUSTRIAL DERATING POLICY IN 24/25 RATINGS YEAR.
People-powered campaign group Act Now calls on Finance Minister John O’Dowd to review the Department of Finance’s (DoF) Industrial Derating policy and bring an end to the multi-million pound giveaway for predatory companies including those profiting off the genocide in Palestine, like Larne and Belfast based company Caterpillar.
Last month, Caterpillar was named in UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s ‘From economy of occupation to economy of genocide’ report as one of 60 companies profiting from Israel’s genocide in Gaza. According to the report, since October 2023, Caterpillar equipment has been documented in use carrying out mass demolitions, raiding hospitals and crushing Palestinians to death. In 2025, Caterpillar secured a further multi-million dollar contract with Israel.
A Freedom of Information request by Act Now has revealed that the total cost of the rates exemption under the Industrial Derating in the 24/25 rates year came to £76,314,810 - up by approximately £3 million from the previous year. Caterpillar benefited from the policy due to its manufacturing operations in West Belfast.
Over 3000 Act Now members have so far signed the petition calling on the Finance Minister to scrap the exemption.
Other companies whose business practices have attracted condemnation also benefitted from the Industrial Derating policy in 24/25. They include:
Moy Park - £853,758.69
Coca-Cola - £625,412.22
LCC Group - £580,361.39
Kingspan - £294,070.42
RLC(UK) - £141,394.19
Moyola Precision Engineering - £73,881.34
Dalradian Gold Limited - £14,788.43
Roan Ellis-O’Neill, campaigner at Act Now said:
“Our members are outraged by Finance Minister John O’Dowd’s handout to Caterpillar - one of the most egregious profiteers of genocide in Palestine. Caterpillar’s profits are soaring because of their rampant destruction of Palestinian life that has only intensified in the past 22 months. Caterpillar’s crimes in Gaza and the West Bank have long been documented - so why hasn’t Minister O’Dowd batted an eyelid?”
Industrial derating includes a 70% discount in rates for manufacturing spaces, and is awarded to more than 4,000 industrial properties in Northern Ireland. The average household rate bill in Northern Ireland in 2024-25 was £1,180.
Northern Ireland is the only region in the UK that maintains an Industrial Derating policy. The policy was abolished in England and Wales in 1963 and Scotland in 1995. In 2003, Stormont promised to phase out the derating policy following a public consultation.
Two companies who provide components for F-35 Fighter Jets, RLC(UK) and Moyola Precision Engineering, received £141,394.19 and £73,881.34 in exemptions under the policy. Last year, Act Now exposed the multi-million pound funding these companies received from Invest NI and have been calling on Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald to come clean on whether the funding has provided support to the Israeli military.
Roan Ellis-O’Neill continued:
“We are constantly told by the Executive that there’s not enough money to fund vital services such as schools and hospitals, that they’re doing what matters most to the lives of people here. So, why are NI-based companies like Moyola Precision Engineering and RLC UK, who make components for F-35s - the very fighter jets used by Israel to drop 2000lb bombs on Gaza - and already receive millions of pounds in public funds through Invest NI receiving an exemption in rates and people struggling to pay their rent and mortgages are not? The Executive should stop enabling war and destruction and start investing in a world where everyone’s needs are met no matter who you are or where you come from.”
ENDS//
For more information please contact: Roan Ellis-O’Neill, Campaigner at Act Now - info@actnowni.org
NOTES:
Act Now is the first people-powered campaigning community for Northern Ireland, and has over 30,000 members who take action on a range of issues, including climate change, education, childcare, and anti-racism. www.actnowni.org
The original Freedom of Information request: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XgUyb1pKozVplrdcGOYlD-SE8QpZ6KsC/view?usp=drive_link
List of companies/properties benefiting from Industrial Derating as at 31st March 2025 - from FOI request: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jrC_wX9qtGxqLpgjy8i9pWWZFRgEamIN/view?usp=drive_link
Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Research Paper - The Phasing Out Of Industrial De-Rating In Northern Ireland - https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/committees/2007-2011/enterprise-trade-and-investment/research-papers/the-phasing-out-of-industrial-de-rating-in-northern-ireland/
More information on the Industrial Derating policy: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/industrial-derating