Council Watch: News in brief from Cork City Council's June meeting
A motion for a sports museum in Cork goes nowhere; no resolution on the continued closure of Ballincollig Fire Station; a proposal for a dog parks in the Lee Fields and more money for Pride Fest
First-timers: Councillor Brian McCarthy attended his first Cork City Council meeting last night following the resignation of Fiona Ryan last month. Cllr McCarthy, from the Solidarity Party - People Before Profit, was co-opted at last night's meeting in place of Ms. Ryan.
When good fences don’t make good neighbours: In a motion concerning a new fence erected by Cork Prison, Cllr John Maher (Labour) referred to the prison as "bad neighbors" for erecting a boundary fence without what he called adequate communication from the prison service. Cllr Maher told the City Council meeting that the Prison Service had informed some neighbours that the fence was intended to prevent “illegal dumping”. Cllr Maher's motion called for the "softening of the fence's appearance." Additionally, Cllr Mick Nugent (SF) suggested inviting a representative from Cork Prison to address Cork City Council, as he believed they were disregarding the concerns of the neighborhood. His suggestion received widespread support from the councillors..
Put that in a museum: Elsewhere, Cllr Joe Kavanagh (FG) proposed in his motion that a Cork Sports Museum be constructed in the city. He and other councillors highlighted that Cork is not lacking in sporting heroes, such as Roy Keane, Sonia O'Sullivan, and the late Teddy McCarthy. Mr. McCarthy, who passed away last week, was the only GAA player to ever win a football and hurling All-Ireland medal in the same year.
However, while the idea of a museum might have political backing amongst councillors, it falls at the first hurdle. As Ann Doherty, chief executive of Cork City Council pointed out, “ultimately these things are’t financially viable… you would need to be part of something bigger, or we are looking at an ongoing revenue with a capital sum?”
Undeterred, Cllr Kavangh, like the boxer in the 12th round who resfuses to give up, responded that he would “look at an alternative way of reimagining this motion,” instead of letting pass into motion heaven, where so many other motions go.
More money, more Pride: In a separate motion, John Maher requested increased funding for the Cork Pride Festival, scheduled to take place from July 30 to August 6. The City Council has already allocated €5,000, but Cllr Maher asked if additional funds could be allocated to the festival organizers. Cllr Kieran McCarthy (Independent) proposed that the pride festival organisers be invited to an SPC (Strategic Policy Committee) meeting to present their festival plans and provide detailed financial information.
Although the amount provided by the City Council may appear relatively small considering the scale of the festival, T+D is aware that other festivals and sporting events, both larger and smaller in terms of revenue generation for the city and the number of participants, have received similar levels of funding from the City Council.
Cllr Maher said that the organisers of Cork Pride have presented their vision and financial figures to the City Council, emphasising the importance of the Council honoring their commitment to Pride. In her response,CE Executive said the Council do more than put fly the Pride flag and that any money that would be forthcoming for Cork Pride, would have to be taken from a pot that would lessen the amount for others coming to the well.
Putting out fires: The issue of hiring retained firefighters and the ongoing closure of Ballincollig Fire Station was once again debated in the City Council chambers. The City Council and the firefighter unions are currently engaged in the Workplace Relations Committee (WRC) process to address various staffing concerns.
During the discussion, Cllr Lorna Bogue (An Rabharta Glas-Green Left) said that Cork City Council should be hiring full-time firefighters instead of relying on retained firefighters who work on a part-time basis. Cllr Bogue referred to the retained firefighter positions as "casualised labor" that "nobody in their right mind would engage in, and if they do, they are very brave."
Council CEO Ms. Doherty, in her response, stated her intention to "correct some factual information." She clarified that Ballincollig had a retained firefighter service prior to the boundary extension in 2019. Despite a two-year campaign to recruit new firefighters, the area has faced challenges in attracting retained firefighters. Ms. Doherty expressed disappointment over the Council's inability to attract retained firefighters specifically in the local context of Ballincollig.
While she did not explicitly mention whether opening the fire station in Ballincollig would aid in attracting firefighters, Ms. Doherty did highlight that the current fire station in Ballincollig lacks proper sleeping and welfare facilities.
The Council has prepared a report on the future configuration of the fire service in the city, taking into account factors such as population growth, risk categorisation, and fire station locations. Mr. Doherty mentioned that approximately 250 calls were made to the fire service from Ballincollig, out of a total of 1200 calls across Cork City. Furthermore, 70% of the calls from Ballincollig were not classified as category one emergencies.
Reading between the lines it’s highly unlikely, at least in the short term, that Ballincollig Fire Station will reopen .
Dog parks: We've been here before. Cllr Mick Finn (Independent) has proposed that a section of the Lee Fields be considered for a trial as a dog park, where dogs could potentially be allowed off their leads. This topic has been raised previously, with Tramore Valley Park suggested as a trial location for a dog park. In fact, two years ago, Cllr Shane O'Callaghan brought forth a motion for a dog park in Tramore Valley Park, as he mentioned to T+D. From that long read:
Cllr O’Callaghan, who has been in touch with Mairéad, put down a motion for a dog park in Tramore Valley, which falls inside his electoral area, but he tells me he recognises that there “also needs to be a dog park in places that are more central, in addition to other areas such as Tramore Valley Park.”
While Tramore Valley Park is the largest park in the city, it is currently accessible only for pedestrians and dog walkers coming from the South Douglas Road. The pedestrian and cycle bridge over the South Link, dubbed by some wags as the "hump to the dump," will provide accessibility to residents of Grange and Frankfield. However, beyond occasional motions it’s unclear how committed the City Council are to trialling a dog park at Tramore Valley Park of the Lee Fields.
Cork City Council in numbers:
In response to a question from Cllr Ted Tynan (Worker’s Party), the City Couincil provided the rent paid by Cork City Council tenants for the past three years:
2020 €28,297,209.13
2021 €29,877,708.39
2022 €30,604,948.69