Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Right across Cork city, new communities are being welcomed with new neighbours. These expanded areas see their communities being built up without services being put in place. Why is it that when housing estates are being built the services are not put in either beforehand or at the same time as the development? Since the boundary extension of 2019, which saw large parts of the county transferred into the city boundaries, the city has not received the development levies. As a result, these communities were at a loss and left short of footpaths, lighting, improvements to roads, pedestrian crossings and other safety measures.

A community in my constituency, Kerry Pike, which is a beautiful little village, has doubled in size following the construction of estates and more estates will be built. Not one penny from the levies went into the community. I thank the locals who, when that area was included in the city, stood up and advocated for services. They now have pedestrian crossings and have seen improvements to some footpaths. When a community is doubled in size, the services must go in at the same time. In Kerry Pike, there is a school that did not have pedestrian crossings or footpaths for years. The children had to cross a road that was being used as a rat run because the northern ring road was never built. In many other areas, for example, Glanmire and Ballyvolane, we will see the same happen under the development plan. What we do not have is a strategic plan to put in place the infrastructure and services that these communities need. If we build communities, they must be sustainable. In many of these communities, especially those in the constituency I represent, people have felt neglected for years because there has never been investment or plans put in place to support them.

What we need now is development charges spent in a balanced way in Cork city. Last year, Michael Moynihan wrote about a city divided in the Irish Examiner. He stated that people in Cork's north side seem like second-class citizens when we compare the funding spent there with what is spent on the other side of the river. To highlight that, in 2022, the active travel funding saw 31 projects worth almost €16 million go to the south side but, on my side of the river, there were just 12 projects worth less than €6 million. That is €10 million less. Every single year, we see funding pumped into areas that have services, while other areas that badly need services do not get them.

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