Cork County Council has 55 seats to be decided nd

Cork County Council is the local authority of county Cork, serving a population of c.332,255 people, with c.117,742 homes in the county. The council budget in 2024 is €458, with staff numbering 2,000 approximately.

As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001, as amended. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture and environment. The council has 55 elected members, representing 8 Municipal Districts - Fermoy 6, Cobh 6, Mallow 5 - Kanturk 4; East Cork - Midleton 7; Carrigaline 6, Macroom 6; Bandon - Kinsale 6; West Cork - Bantry 4 - Skibbereen 5.

The head of the council has the title of Mayor, currently, Cllr Frank O’Flynn. The county administration is headed by chief executive, Valerie O'Sullivan.

HISTORY

Cork County Council (CCC) was established on 1 April, 1899 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 for the administrative county of Cork and just last week TheAvondhu featured the 125th anniversary celebrations of the council. Originally meetings of CCC were held in the back portion of the top floor of Cork Courthouse. By the 1950s these premises were becoming inadequate and County Hall opened in April 1968, which was Ireland's tallest building for many years, with the 17-storey structure still one of the tallest in the country.

BOUNDARY CHANGE

The area under the administration of Cork County Council was reduced on 31 May 2019, ceding territory to Cork City Council. This implemented changes under the Local Government Act 2019.

The 2015 Cork Local Government Review had recommended merging Cork City Council and Cork County Council into a single "super council"; however, a minority report opposed the merger, with a subsequent report published by an expert advisory group in 2017 recommending a city boundary extension.

In January 2019, legislation was passed which finalised the revision of Local Government boundary arrangements in Cork.

This meant that from May 31st, 2019, as a resident, business or community within the transition area, your local authority would change from Cork County Council to Cork City Council. The transition area included Ballincollig, Blarney, Tower, Glanmire, Douglas, Donnybook, Grange, Frankfield, Rochestown and Togher.

Extensive preparatory work had been carried out by the CEs of both councils and their staff, over the previous year, in planning and organising the transition of over 400 services involving circa 85,000 citizens from the county administrative area to the city administrative area.

As part of this change, 203 staff transferred from Cork County Council to Cork City Council.

REGIONAL ASSEMBLY

Cork County Council has representatives on the Southern Regional Assembly who are part of the South-West Strategic Planning Area committee.

Cork County Council in late 2023 approved its Budget for 2024, totalling over €458 million. This is the first balanced budget the council has adopted in several years and will ensure services are maintained and even increased, despite continuing high inflation (7.8% for 2022 and 5.1% to October year on year).

Key services such as Housing and Roads will see increases of €18.4m and €22.1 million respectively. The Local Property Tax, payable by householders, remains unchanged with commercial rates also staying at 2023 levels. The SME Grant Incentive Scheme will also continue providing a 3.5% rebate up to a max of €7,000 for each ratepayer. The increase in operational expenditure reflects Cork County Council’s commitment and ambition to deliver the services needed to enhance urban and rural communities across the county.

The council continues its focus on supporting communities and outdoor resources, evidenced in the creation of a new Service Enhancement Fund, valued at €650,000 together with ongoing maintenance of the €3.3 million General Municipal Allocation, the Village Enhancement Fund and the Town Development Fund.

Climate Action legislation commits Ireland to NetZero emissions by 2050 and a 51% reduction by 2030. The recent destruction caused by Storm Babet across a number of the county’s towns and villages and in particular the devastation in East Cork, has increased focus on the need to accelerate efforts to combat climate action. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has allocated €1.2 million to Cork County Council from the Climate Action Fund (CAF) to deliver the Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) addressing both direct climate action, climate education and capacity building. Cork County Council is committed to its current climate adaptation activities across its services.

This commitment is reflected in Council’s Capital Budget Programme through investment in rural work hubs, improving living conditions in urban and rural areas, flood and coastal protection works for vulnerable communities, energy efficiency projects in Council owned facilities, protection of waterways and sustainable travel projects.

Cork County Council’s €1.5 billion 3-year Capital Programme encompasses current, proposed and potential infrastructural projects to be undertaken by Council between 2024 and 2026. The overall emphasis of this expenditure relates to housing provision, roads, environment, recreation and amenity and flood programmes.