Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

-----arranged a better occasion for this debate.

First, I want to address the sense in some media commentary and debates between city and county that there is an enormous dissonance between the city and county. I do not believe there is and that a solution is possible. I believe that the amendment I tabled, on which I consulted my Sinn Féin county and city councillor colleagues as well as our other two party Deputies from the county in developing it, and which is to a broad extent what is outlined in the Mackinnon report, is a basis for progress. It is worth setting the context here that we were dealing with this issue two years ago. It is ongoing, and while I am entirely for resolving it through dialogue, it is worth noting that dialogue has not resolved this issue over the past 15 years. It is not a new issue and has been ongoing for some time. It is only now that I think we are beginning to realise the importance of this decision.

We were dealing with a merger proposal. I said when I was a councillor on Cork County Council and I say it again here that the merger proposal would have been disastrous. It would have constrained the growth of the city and it would make no sense whatsoever for a major city like that not to have independent local government of its own. The districts such as those that Deputy Collins represents, including Schull and Adrigole, would not have benefited either from an enormous so-called local authority for a population of 500,000 that would still, even in an unfocused way, have been driven largely from the centre. That proposal was wrong and I still believe it is wrong. We are now in a space where two things are very clear for me and two things are agreed between local authorities. The first is that there should be a two local authority solution. That is absolutely the correct model. It is in the interests of the city, rural areas and our county towns to have independent local government. I also believe, as has been stated by the Minister of State and some Fianna Fáil Deputies, that the status quois utterly unsustainable and, frankly, madness.

I grew up in a neighbourhood called Togher. I went to primary and secondary school in the city. I played GAA in the city and soccer in the county and I was elected to the county council. I represented probably the most urban county council district in the entire country, perhaps, outside of the three in Dublin. It is an overwhelmingly urban district. There is no sense in the vast bulk of that being in a county council. It was a complete anomaly. There were county councillors there who, until I was elected, did not even realise that Togher was in the county. The status quois utterly unsustainable and needs to be addressed. It dates from a time when Rochestown was a sleepy village on the way to Passage West. It is 50 or 60 years old and clearly needs to be addressed.

The manner in which the city and its suburbs will develop over the next 30 or 40 years is already relatively clear. We already have a fairly clear sense of what it will involve. I want to emphasise suburbs. The towns outside the city, as they are properly called, are clearly under urban influence and I believe they can and must retain their own identity within an urban and metropolitan council. It is clear that for the city, its suburbs and its outlying towns, the major development that will happen will be to the west of the city, towards Ballincollig, Carrigrohane, Blarney and Tower, and to the east of the city, towards Carrigtwohill. Those communities need to be consulted, but whatever local authority is governing those areas, they will develop enormously and be transformed, and the county council will do that just as well as the city council. They will be transformed beyond recognition and I hope it will be in a positive way, but that will not be any different, whether it is city or county. The most important thing is that they are well planned and planned in a co-ordinated, sustainable way that is in the interests of those communities. That is the shape of the region regardless of whether we keep the status quo.

There are issues to address and I recognise that. Our amendment proposes that the Cork economic development and planning board needs to take in the whole county. It is currently only talking about the metropolitan area, so if we are talking about co-operation between two local authorities in a new era of efficiencies and good co-operation, then why not do that over the whole county rather than just the metropolitan area? It needs to be more democratically representative. There is also the issue of finance. This is the key and is central to everything, including the point of services as opposed to specific boundaries. The concerns expressed by representatives in west Cork, east Cork and north Cork can be met if the financial package that is agreed can be done properly. I suggest what is contained in our amendment. An economic development and planning board that would be responsible for the whole county would have a permanent function for the redistribution of finance throughout the county. That is the fairest model to ensure those rural parts of Cork and major towns outside the city area can be financially sustainable and have the services they need delivered to them. It is important also that the city council, whatever the boundary may be, develops a strong strategy for recognising and developing towns and villages, including villages within its existing boundary, such as Blackpool and Cork.

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It needs to take on that job.

I recommend the amendment. We need to move forward on the basis of dialogue, but also on the basis of a long-term vision for Cork. It needs to develop as a significant counterbalance, although complementary, to Dublin. To do that, we need to make the right decisions now for the next 20 to 40 years.

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