Furious city councillors have advised the man who chaired the shelved Cork council merger report to “get off the pitch” and let government get on with extending the city boundary.

The Mackinnon report’s recommendation of an extension of the Cork City boundary is “nothing more than an attempted rates and land grab”, residents in a Co Cork town have complained.

Considerable opposition to the proposed extension of Cork city’s boundary is expected to be aired at a meeting tonight, in Carrigtwohill.

That old Irish joke, that the first item on any agenda is ‘the split’, has been superseded by the never-ending debate around the wisdom of amalgamating Cork city and county councils or of extending city boundaries to encompass growing dormitory towns and villages. 

The man who chaired the controversial and shelved Cork super-council report has branded the expert advisory group’s boundary extension report a “cobbled together work of fiction”.

A review into the proposed merger of Cork city and county councils has recommended both authorities be maintained and the city boundary be extended for the first time in more than 50 years.

Does Cork now need an event centre in the middle of the city when the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh is such an attractive venue, asks Michael Moynihan.

The former head of Beamish and Crawford has called for the controversial Cork event centre project to be scrapped and retendered, writes Eoin English.

The former head of Beamish and Crawford has called for the controversial Cork event centre project to be scrapped and retendered.

The developers of Cork’s event centre are expected to brief city councillors before the end of the month on the status of the project which has been dogged by delays.

The former head of Beamish and Crawford has become the latest person to voice public fears about the future of the stalled €53m Cork event centre project on the former brewery site.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

Minister for Local Government Simon Coveney has announced a review of the controversial merger plan for Cork city and county councils in a bid to find a compromise.

A local government expert has called for “open engagement” in a bid to build on common ground contained in the controversial Cork councils merger report.

Two key figures in the body which recommended a merger of Cork city and county councils have declined several invitations to appear before an Oireachtas committee.

The Cork Local Government Review (CLGR) committee has been invited to appear before a Dáil committee on environment and local government to discuss its controversial merger report which has split the region.

The head of an influential business association on the outskirts of Cork said his members still back a merger of the city and county councils, but only if the Government gives cast-iron guarantees about maintaining the city’s status.

Business group Ibec has defended its U-turn on the Cork council merger plan.

Divisions look set to continue over the controversial proposal to merge Cork’s city and county councils — a plan to be brought to Cabinet tomorrow by Environment Minister Alan Kelly.

The debate over the future of Cork’s local authorities has escalated to a war of words between two organisations representing businesses in the city.

The President of University College Cork (UCC) has defended the right of academics to speak out against the Cork super-council plan.

A split has emerged in Labour over the proposal to merge Cork city and county councils, with a TD accusing Environment Minister Alan Kelly of rushing to accept the findings.

The former president of the Cork Business Association has broken ranks with the group to welcome the proposed merger of Cork’s city and county councils, which is now the focus of a major legal challenge.

Cork City Council is to seek a judicial review of the administrative actions of the review group which has recommended a merger of the city and county councils.

The chair of the group which has recommended a controversial merger of Cork city and county councils wants to hold high-level briefings with those on both sides of the debate amid mounting criticism.

The main author of a report recommending the amalgamation of two local authorities has hit back at academics who have criticised the merger plans.

Three planning experts have warned against merging Cork city and county councils, claiming that a single authority will be oversized, unwieldy, undemocratic and unworkable.

The controversial proposed merger of Cork city and county councils will take years to implement with the environment minister admitting the required legislation will not be introduced in the lifetime of the Government.

The first question one could reasonably ask upon glancing through the report recommending a merger of Cork City and County Councils is — Catherine Shanahan asks; will this actually ever happen?

THAT the report from a five-person committee asked to consider the amalgamation of Cork city and county councils submitted to Environment Minister Alan Kelly last week was adopted by the narrowest possible margin is not at all surprising. Indeed, any other outcome would have been entirely unexpected.

In a 120-page report, the Cork Local Government Review Group makes 15 proposals that support a unified authority for the region. Group chair Alf Smiddy explains its plans

A landmark report recommending the merger of Cork city and county councils will be published today.

Developer Owen O’Callaghan says he would consider moving his business to Dublin if a merger of Cork’s local authorities goes ahead.

The Cork-based property developer, Owen O'Callaghan, has said he would consider moving his business base from Cork if Cork City and County Councils merge.

Cork’s most senior government minister has refused to say whether he favours a merger of the region’s two local authorities or a city boundary extension.