Politicians should not always be criticised for U-turns. As the Bible nearly says, there is more joy in heaven at one minister who repents than at 99 who plough on regardless.

So Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd, Stormont’s Minister for Finance, deserves a fair hearing over his tax U-turn last week.

O’Dowd halted a revaluation of business rates, the equivalent of commercial rates in the Republic, following lobbying from the hospitality industry. Pubs and hotels had faced average increases of 47 per cent and 85 per cent respectively, threatening to put many out of business.

While the industry is delighted, few others are impressed by the Minister’s claims of having listened and acted. Other parties are naturally crowing at his discomfort, although he brought much of this on himself by haughtily dismissing their concerns in the weeks beforehand.

The more serious criticism of O’Dowd’s change of heart is he did not so much revise his decision as belatedly interrupt an automatic process.

Rates for all businesses are revalued every three years by an agency under O’Dowd’s department to ensure they are fair and up to date. This exercise is revenue-neutral: all the adjustments cancel out.

Valuations are based on the rental value of premises, but........

© The Irish Times