A number of independent members of Cork County Council have expressed concerns about the proposed merger of Cork City and Cork County councils and the impact it may have on the more remote parts of the county.

Independent Cllr Timmy Collins, from Meelin in north Cork, and fellow Independent Cllr Michael Collins, from Schull, both admitted that they had reservations about the proposed merger, as recommended by the Cork Local Government Review Committee (LGRC).

The Cork LGRC, in its majority report, argued for the merger of the two councils rather than a boundary extension for the city, saying it would make for more efficient local government.

It also ruled out a continuation of the status quo.

However, Cllr Timmy Collins told The Irish Times that while he opposed an extension of the city council, he believed a merger would be bad for more remote parts of the county such as Meelin, which are geographically on the periphery of the county council’s administrative area.

The councillor said that, as it is, Cork County Council transfers revenues gathered in the Cork South Division that surrounds the city to provide services in both Cork North Division and Cork West Division.

“The reason I am against a city extension is that the bigger companies in Ringaskiddy, Carrigaline, Little Island and the Glanmire are paying rates to the county, and if the boundary extension happens, we are going to lose out on that and the county will be the poorer.

“Now if the two councils merge, all the city is against that so you have a problem straight away, and the city and the county councillors are going to be at loggerheads - I can’t see anything going to the city being of benefit to where I come from, 50 miles away in north Cork.

“The county has nothing at all to gain from a merger. We have our own budget and we’re getting on fine.

“The only problem we have is that we are not getting enough money from central government - I think we should stay as is with two separate councils.”

‘Serious concerns’

Cllr Michael Collins said that he had serious concerns from the moment the issue was raised and he believed talk of a merger was a distraction from the more serious issues facing the council, such as housing and home helps.

“The merger has superseded all the issues and you are ‘damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t’ .

“We were asked to make changes and we were not allowed have any discussion on the way it is at the moment, which I believe is the best way forward.”

Cllr Michael Collins said that he had reluctantly supported the idea of a merger at a committee meeting when the issue was discussed, but he did so only because he considered it “the lesser of two evils” relative to a city boundary extension.

“I’m opposed to a boundary extension for the city because it would affect our rate income, but my worry about a merger is that the rural peninsulas of west Cork could end up having less of a say in a larger council and we need to have a strong voice.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, of Sinn Féin, said he hopes to table a motion on the issue in the near future, after Mayor of County Cork Cllr John Paul O’Shea had not allowed a debate on the matter under suspension of standing orders.

The mayor said that the council had decided in favour of a merger when it debated and voted on the matter some months ago when preparing its submission to the Cork LGRC.

He said that it could not hold another vote to change its position for six months.