Cork council merger: If the city’s status is diminished in any manner, the entire region could suffer

Cork needs to present itself no longer as one of Ireland’s provincial cities but as Ireland’s second city, writes William Brady

The Cork Local Government Committee, headed by Alf Smiddy and supported by a high profile team of experts, has a hugely important task.

Essentially, it can recommend one of two alternatives; the first involving the creation of a metropolitan-scale City Authority alongside a reconfigured County Authority; the second involving an amalgamation of the city and county into one new large combined entity.