New Cork city / county boundary ‘to be law by summer’
THE Green Party has said it has learned that the government expects to have the Cork boundary extension enacted by in law by this summer.
The information was provided by Minister of State John Paul Phelan in answer to a series of questions by Green Party deputy Catherine Martin.
The proposed new boundary for the city includes Ballincollig, Cork Airport, Glanmire, Tower and Blarney but excludes the Monard strategic development zone. Little Island and Carrigtwohill will remain in the county, as will settlements including Glounthane, Killumney, Ovens, Ballinora and Waterfall.
It will see the city’s population almost double from 100,000 to just under 210,000, to include almost 70% of the population of the Metropolitan Cork region.
The compromise emerged before Christmas following weeks of negotiation between Cork City and County Councils. However, Cork County Council has yet to fully ratify the proposals and concerns remain about the moves among residents in several areas of the county which are to be affected.
Separately, last week, the government began the process of defining new local election constituencies nationally. Cork city and county will initially be left out of this process but are expected to be added ‘in due course’ once the boundary extension has been finalised.
All new local constituencies in the 2019 local elections will have a maximum of seven councillors, down from ten at present. Once Cork is added to the process, Cork constituencies in 2019 will elect a minimum of five councillors.
Speaking about the boundary changes, Oliver Moran, the Green Party spokesperson on political reform and representative in Cork North Central said:
“The end of the boundary issue is now clearly mapped out, but it’s not just about the expanded city boundary. The next 12 months are going to be crucial for Cork,” said Moran. “New democratic structures for the entire metropolitan area are on the cards, including harbour areas like Cobh, Carrigaline and Ringaskiddy.”
“A lot of people were unhappy that the boundary extension didn’t go as far as the whole metropolitan area. That would have allowed for integrated transport and economic planning for the whole of the city and its surrounding areas. So the possibility of a metropolitan tier of government in Cork is to be welcomed.”
The report on metropolitan governance for Ireland’s cities will be submitted to the government in the near future after which it will be presented to the Oireachtas for consideration.