Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will speak on amendment No. 9. Ultimately, as the Minister of State outlined earlier, a population of more than 86,000 people will move from the county to the city. This will represent an economic loss for the county. All of the county councillors have grave reservations in respect of the moving of very economically favourable lands and properties and the associated rates base into the city. For instance, the Mayor of Cork County, Councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy, has raised grave concerns about the Blarney area from which a population base in excess of 6,000 people is being moved to the city's jurisdiction. This is after Cork County Council spent millions of euro developing a development plan pertaining to Stoneview in Blarney. That plan included a proposal for 5,300 houses in Monard, which is south of the town. Obviously the development contribution levies in respect of this development will be lost to the council, as will the local property tax revenue.

There are grave financial consequences for the county, bearing in mind that the moneys available from the city to compensate the county are only payable for a ten-year window. The county is set to lose a significant source of revenue in terms of local property tax. There are other areas, but this amendment is tailored to the Blarney Tower area. Councillor Murphy outlined in a submission that the area had no significant transport or infrastructural connectivity with the city. Deputy Michael Collins raised this issue in the other House when the Bill was being debated in the Dáil. He outlined grave reservations.

I assure the Minister of State that the county councillors in Cork to whom I have spoken on this issue are not in favour of Blarney being moved under the city's jurisdiction. They support Blarney staying in the county given what the county and its councillors have done to bring forward that development plan. The county council has spent millions of euro developing this development plan. It would be wrong for all of that work to be lost to the county for the benefit of the city. That is where the amendment comes from. It is an amendment tailored to the Blarney area which allows the Minister of State to achieve his objectives, although it would reduce the population moving under the city's jurisdiction from approximately 86,000 or 87,000 to about 78,000. I am not sure what the Minister of State's thoughts on this are or whether he would have sympathy with the council's position in this regard. I am sure the Mayor of Cork County has raised this issue with the Minister of State. I know that he has raised it with Oireachtas Members in Cork. I am sure that the Senators to whom he spoke will articulate their own views, but that is my view which I have been asked to raise in the House.