A bar owned by a Minister of State has had a court judgment registered against it over commercial rates arrears totalling €15,823.

Minister Ciarán Cannon has said the bill bears no relationship to the earning capacity of his rural bar.

Galway County Council obtained the judgment against The Gate Lodge Pub in Carrabane, which is owned by Minister Cannon and his wife.

The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the rates arrears were accumulated during the recession.

"The Valuation Office is about to commence a revaluation of the whole of Co Galway. Along with Mayo and Donegal, we are the three last counties in Ireland to be revalued," he said.

Minister Cannon said this could potentially see his rates bill drop from €5,600 per annum to around €1,000.

"The new system of valuation for pubs uses your turnover to decide your rates bill, rather than the very unfair past practice of simply measuring the floor area of your trading space," he said.

Three years ago, Minister Cannon and his wife put in place a repayment plan with Galway County Council and have paid back just under €4,000 to date.

"We will continue with this payment plan until such time as the total arrears are cleared," he said.