“Boundary review process is key to Cork’s future economic development – Murphy

Cork North Central TD and Minister for European Affairs and Data Protection, Dara Murphy, today (Thursday) welcomed the announcement by the Minister for the Environment, Alan Kelly TD, that a statutory committee has been appointed to review the Cork City boundary and examine whether local authority structures in Cork should be merged.

“The establishment of the boundary review committee is very positive news. I welcome the fact that it is an independent body, established on a statutory basis. An excellent group of individuals have been appointed to examine these issues and I wish them well in their work.  

“With this process, we have the opportunity to put in place the right boundaries and structures that will work for Cork in terms of future development, and for the country as a whole, which needs a strong second engine of growth to further drive the economic recovery. Cork is the second most densely populated region in the country, which is not recognised in the population figures for the city. These figures matter in terms of securing, for example, European funding for investment in infrastructure and for investment location decisions.

“One thing that I am certain of, and have been since my time as Lord Mayor of Cork, is that the boundary as currently drawn doesn’t work for the people of Cork generally, and particularly the people who live within a 25km radius of Patrick Street. That is not a criticism of either local authority.

“The reality is that Cork has a single brand and a single identity. Cork people are very proud of their identity and I think all of us collectively have the potential to work better if we remove some of the duplication that exists by virtue of the current boundary arrangements between city and county.

“Whether we move to a boundary extension and where that would be, or whether we move to a single authority, both options represent exciting challenges for the Committee to consider.”