Cork Council Merger: Smiddy report recommends more councillors for west Cork

The Smiddy report on the amalgamation of the two local authorities in Cork has recommended the ratio of councillors to constituents be altered, especially in West Cork where their number has been reduced but the area of representation significantly increased.

There are currently 55 councillors representing the county area and 31 for the city. However, on average each county councillor represents 7,269 constituents, while each city councillor represents 3,864.

There is no suggestion of cutting councillor numbers in the report which was launched by Environment Minister Alan Kelly last Tuesday. However, the areas and number of people they represent will have to be looked at.