Smiddy launches scathing criticism of Cork City Council over boundary issue

He said: “There are huge retail problems in the city. North Main Street is dead, South Main Street is dead. The level of boarded-up properties in the city and the dereliction is unreal.
“The convention centre is dead, the docklands are being talked about for 15 years and it’s just talk. So you have a management team and Council presiding over all of this decay and delay, and Mackinnon is recommending that the same council take over control of amazingly progressive towns like Ballincollig, Glanmire, Blarney, and Carrigtwohill. It’s like asking someone who runs a bad chipper to take over the running of McDonald’s,” he said.
Mr Smiddy said the Mackinnon report was a ‘done deal’ from the outset and accused Simon Coveney of dropping the 2015 merger report to appease Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin.