'Taoiseach has listened' to concerns about disparity in funding for Cork

Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McGrath, brother of public expenditure minister Michael McGrath, also told councillors that their concerns were being taken seriously.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has met with senior Cork County Council officials. Picture: Brian Lawless

Cork County Council bosses maintain the Taoiseach and the public expenditure minister have listened to their concerns about the inequitable funding levels the council receives from Government departments compared to other local authorities.

Despite assurances from council chiefs, many councillors want pressure on Micheál Martin, Michael McGrath, and a number of departments to be maintained. 

The funding disparity was confirmed in an independent AIRO report by Maynooth University. 

The report highlighted that a lack of proper funding means it will take 52 years to bring the county's roads up to an adequate standard, at a cost of €750m. 

The council got the lowest Clár funding (for projects in disadvantaged areas) per capita of all local authorities in 2019, despite having the highest Clár population. County Cork accounts for 11.5% of the national Clár population of 832,783.

The council also received the fourth-lowest Leader funding, amounting to just €42 per capita.

Shortly after the report was published last June, Mr Martin made a comment in the Dáil saying that he didn't "buy it".

Since then, both the Taoiseach and Mr McGrath have met with senior council officials.

The officials were questioned on the outcome of that meeting by Independent councillor Ben Dalton-O'Sullivan, who described the report's findings as "explosive".

“We're not asking for a penny extra,” he said.

We're asking for the money we rightly deserve. My biggest fear is this report will go into Government departments and die away slowly."

Independent councillor Danny Collins said: “We cannot put it [the report] on the backburner, we need to keep pushing it."

Fianna Fáil councillor Frank O'Flynn and Labour councillor James Kennedy pointed out that funding had recently been withdrawn by TII for an upgrade of a dangerous section of the N73 (Mallow-Mitchelstown) road, which the former described as “an absolute disgrace”.

Fine Gael councillor Kevin Murphy claimed the number of potholes in the county “is immense", while Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Carroll said some of the roads in the West Cork region were so damaged they would probably never be brought up to a proper standard.

Fianna Fáil councillor Seamus McGrath, brother of public expenditure minister Michael McGrath, said there was “no question this report isn't being taken seriously” by the Taoiseach and all national representatives in Cork.