12,000 farmers want Cork city expansion scrapped

More than 12,000 farmers in Cork want the proposed Mackinnon boundary extension report scrapped and have called for the formation of a single local authority to run the city and county.

The call has come from the IFA’s three regional chairmen, who fear if the Mackinnon proposals are implemented they will ruin Cork County Council’s ability to run its services, especially in already disadvantaged rural areas.

The Mackinnon group called for the retention of Cork’s two local authorities in tandem with a significant city boundary expansion to include areas such as Cork Airport, Douglas, Grange, Frankfield, Rochestown, Ballincollig to the west, Tower, Blarney, Monard and Rathpeacon to the north, and Glanmire, Little Island, and Carrigtwohill to the east. If sanctioned, it would increase the city’s population by 100,000 to 225,000.