Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have come to the House this afternoon to discuss the big issues happening in the southern part of the State. We have had a lot of discussion, and rightly so, about the Brexit issue but last night the two local authorities in Cork came to an agreement regarding the boundary movement in Cork county. This issue has dogged Cork and the southern half of the country for some 50 years since the previous boundary extension was agreed.

I pay tribute to the councillors for their hard work in coming together and putting a solution in place. It was really tedious work moving vast areas of Cork county into the city boundary. The city boundary has been moved to include some 100,000 people. This has increased the city geographical area by a multiple of four, and it has increased the city population by more than 100,000. There is a feeling in Cork currently that the executives, public representatives and academics have been asked for their views, which they have given, and that we now need to step outside that cosy cartel and ask the public for their views. The appropriate step for Cork now is to hold a plebiscite on this massive boundary review and put it before the people so they can give their views on it. There was a previous plebiscite in Ireland in this regard and the legislation is there. I have researched it, and I believe the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, should look at that issue. When we consider such a vast change in population and geographical area in boundary reviews, the most appropriate step for us to take now is to ask the people. We should not be afraid of asking people. That is, after all, what we are here to do.