Cork City Futures Group 'a pointless exercise' without funding to back it, says councillor

Among its aims are maximising Cork City’s potential as a university city, and considering how Cork City’s arts and culture offering could be strengthened

Fine Gael councillor Shane O'Callaghan said: 'People are going to be looking to city council after this report is published, saying you need to do this and this and this, but we’re not getting extra money to do anything. It’s creating unrealistic expectations and pushing them onto the council.'

The long-awaited Cork City Taskforce has been described as a pointless exercise just hours after being signed off by government on Wednesday.

The independent chair of the new group will be Brendan Tuohy and the board will have expertise from local government, state agencies, academia, business and commerce, tourism, the transport sector, the gardaí, and the arts.

The group, which was originally set to be in place in the first 100 days of this government, will be asked to provide a report and a high-level implementation framework by summer.

The project will be named the Cork City Futures Group, with the delays in the rollout of the programme linked to issues with the name. Taoiseach Micheál Martin previously said people in Cork were “fussy” about the word taskforce.

A city council spokesperson said the word “has connotations of negativity”.

A Cork City Council spokesperson said the launch of the group is “a positive step” for the city which will complement and enhance work already under way by the council through its dedicated city centre directorate and action plan for 2025-2030 adopted last year.

However, Fine Gael councillor Shane O’Callaghan said that while there will be “a lot of effort” put into both the government’s taskforce and the council’s city centre action plan, if neither comes with funding to implement recommendations, “what’s the point?” 

He said: “While I welcome the fact that the taskforce is going to be established, without a funding stream to ensure the recommendations become a reality, it’s a pointless exercise.

“That’s what’s happening with the Dublin taskforce, there’s been no funding provided yet.” 

The report from the Dublin taskforce was released in October 2024, a year after it was announced by then-Taoiseach, Simon Harris. A working group has been set up by Dublin City Council to implement the recommendations. 

The council sought €114m from the government in February this year to kickstart the recommendations, with implementation of the full programme expected to cost up to €1bn.

Mr O’Callaghan said that without any commitment to funding attached to the Cork City taskforce, a similar situation will unfold here.

“People are going to be looking to city council after this report is published, saying you need to do this and this and this, but we’re not getting extra money to do anything. It’s creating unrealistic expectations and pushing them onto the council.

This seems like a publicity stunt, a way for the government to be seen to be doing something without actually doing anything. 

The terms of reference approved by Cabinet on Wednesday include making recommendations on how Cork City can fully realise its potential for sustained foreign direct investment and domestic business development, and serve as a regional hub aligning educational institutions with local and international enterprise.

Other aims include maximising Cork City’s potential as a university city, and considering how Cork City’s arts and culture offering could be strengthened.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “Cork has its own unique strengths and challenges, and we will work to that. Cork City Council is our key partner here in delivering the work and we look forward to a bright future for this wonderful city.”