Democratic deficit in urban areas
Whereas other areas were treated as a single unit, Cork was singled out to be considered by administrative division rather than as a council. The result of this is to retain a disproportionate number of seats in the western division and to disadvantage the rapidly growing commuter belts closer to the city.
Having read the submissions, the principal argument for the treatment of Cork county by administrative division seems to have been that the area is “sprawling”.
This led to the argument for consideration of the county in divisions rather than as a single entity and, in my view, this did a serious disservice to the people of Cork who are living in the rapidly growing areas.
Had Cork county been reviewed on a population basis, then the division of seats per member would have been made on the basis of population in the 2006 census.
This would have given a population of 7,539 to each councillor and seen the seats redistributed to reflect the changed nature of settlement in Cork.
The electorates of Carrigaline and Midleton have been most disadvantaged by the methodology used, and while I must applaud our colleagues in the western division for the success of their submissions, I can only question a ‘solution’ that has the councillors in the southern division representing 9,893 people per councillor and those in the western division representing just 4,464 per councillor.
To put it in even starker terms, after the changes the 53,565 people of the Bantry and Skibbereen areas are represented by the same number of councillors as the 115,275 people in the Carrigaline and Midleton areas.
It may be that those who shouted loudest in submissions to the review body were rewarded, but in that case it is at the cost of flagrant inequity to citizens outside the western division. One can only hope for a more enlightened approach at the next review.
Killian O’Sullivan
Chairman
Cork East Constituency
Executive
Fine Gael
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