Council sign €35 million loan deal
BORROWING FROM EIB INTENDED FOR SOCIAL AND CLIMATE INVESTMENT
CORK County Council officials signed on the dotted line last week for a €35m loan from the European Investment Bank as the first step in a five year strategy which will lead to an overall investment of €270m across the county in that period.
The agreement signed on Thursday at the Council headquarters at Carrigrohane is the first element of an overall €50 million facility from the EIB.
The money borrowed from the EIB is to prime a Social Sustainability Programme to maximise potential for growth under the Government’s Project Ireland 2040 and its aim is to ‘ensure a sustainable future for Cork County’.
County Council Chief Executive Tim Lucey said the money borrowed from the EIB, in tandem with central government Urban and Rural Regeneration and Development funding streams, would allow the local authority to ‘support a strategic investment programme, implement development plans, support communities and drive economic performance across the entire county.’.
“Cork has been set a target of delivering in the region of 23 per cent of the State’s overall population growth by 2040.” he pointed out.
“The future success of Cork County is contingent on a sustainable foundation, with a network of thriving towns, supporting their hinterlands and providing for balanced, sustainable growth.
“This demands coordinated, strategic planning and investment.”
According to County Mayor, Councillor Christopher O’Sullivan,
traditional funding sources through government departments and other state agencies could be intermittent and fragmented and this didn’t ‘readily facilitate an overall coordinated approach to capital works’.
“This loan finance will be allocated to priority schemes that will make a significant contribution to sustainable growth and employment in the county,” said Mayor O’Sullivan.
He added that a holistic programme of targeted investment was needed in the short to medium term if the aim of ‘providing the basis for vibrant towns, ready to embrace new lifestyles and work practices’ was to be achieved.
Andrew McDowell, EIB Vice President, said that he hoped the loan agreement with Cork County Council would be the first of many with local authorities across Ireland ‘ to unlock investment that improves communities and economic opportunities’.
“Thriving local communities are key for sustainable growth and this new cooperation provides a model for successfully scaling up investment to tackle local challenges.”
Cork County Council is also close to finalising a further significant loan agreement for a further €34 million with the Council of Europe Development Bank which will complement this initial agreement with the EIB.
Among the measures the funding will be aimed at are flood protection and prevention, urban infrastructure and public spaces, public and cultural building modernisation, broadband and several other initiatives across the whole of the county.