First time Cork city councillors preparing for return of meetings

Monday will see the return of Cork City Council meetings following the summer recess and first time elected councillors have set their sights on a range of matters to highlight in the council chamber for the term ahead.

While a swathe of existing councillors were returned to Cork City Council in June’s local elections, Leesiders also showed their support to non-incumbents.

The results of the summer’s local elections brought the arrival of nine new faces to the council chamber, namely Labour’s Peter Horgan and Laura Harmon, Fianna Fáil’s Margaret McDonnell and Terry Coleman, Sinn Féin’s Joe Lynch and Michelle Gould, Pádraig Rice (Social Democrats), Honore Kamegni (Green Party) and Albert Deasy (Independent).

One of the success stories emerging from June’s local elections was the gains made by Labour. 

The party managed to treble its presence on Cork City Council, with sitting councillor John Maher easily retaining his seat in addition to the election of Peter Horgan and Laura Harmon.

Mr Horgan, who unsuccessfully ran for election in 2019, said he was delighted to secure a seat on the council the second time around and that he is aware of the challenges ahead.

Voice for working families

“On my election, the obvious feeling was elation buttressed by the need to deliver on my campaign to be that voice for working families and tackle the issues of housing, transport and more amenities in our communities,” he said.

The South East ward councillor said it has been somewhat of a “slow start” to the role with the summer months intervening, but that it has been “good to begin making representations on different issues” and devise policies with party colleagues “and other like-minded parties focusing on issues like playground investment and pedestrian safety.”

Over the term of the council, Mr Horgan said he would aim to secure additional investment in amenities and advocate for “better housing across all sections”, along with enhanced public transport for the city.

His party colleague, South West ward councillor Laura Harmon shares these ambitions.

“My immediate priority will be housing — I will continue to call for solutions to the housing crisis as I have done over many years,” the long-term campaigner told The Echo.

“I will also be pushing for more pedestrian and road safety— I have been a strong voice on calling for road safety for Lehenaghmore residents for example.”

Ms Harmon, one of the nine first-time councillors elected, said she has been enjoying the role of a councillor so far.

When the term of the council concludes in 2029, Ms Harmon said she hopes to see “solutions for housing in place across the city and a massive reduction in derelict properties.”

“I intend to work hard to log repairs for roads and footpaths and to campaign for more green spaces, playgrounds and public toilets,” she added.

The 2024 local elections were also a success story for Fianna Fáil in Cork city, with all of the party’s councillors from the previous council term being returned in addition to the election of two non-incumbents, Margaret McDonnell and Terry Coleman.

Mr Coleman said being approached by the party to run in the city’s South West ward was a “huge privilege”.

Pride

Having lived in Bishopstown all his life, Mr Coleman said he felt he could be a “strong candidate to run and represent the residents and the many groups and associations” in the suburb and its environs.

“The feeling when I was elected on the night in City Hall was one of immense pride in both my family and my campaign team’s support and efforts throughout the 12 months in the run-up to the election day,” he said, reflecting on the fateful results weekend.

“Since becoming a councillor in early June the reception I have received from neighbours and residents from all over the Cork City South West Ward has been tremendous.

“The transition to becoming a first-time councillor has been a smooth one because of the incredible staff in Cork City Hall, in all departments.

“The help and support that I have received has been amazing,” he said. When meetings start back on Monday, Mr Coleman said his immediate priorities are getting “straight down to work” in addressing the issues in the area that have been brought to his attention during the summer months.

“I can assure you that there is as much work done on the ground when the council is not sitting as there is when we are sitting,” he said.

In his native Bishopstown and in the surrounding areas of Wilton, Glasheen and Model Farm Rd, Mr Coleman said footpaths is the “predominant issue” that has been raised with him. On a more city-wide basis, dereliction and an ask for a more visible Garda presence on the streets in the city centre have been two key matters raised by his constituents.

In the city’s North West ward, Michelle Gould is one of the newly elected Sinn Féin councillors.

Diverse

Asked how she has found the role as a councillor this far, “busy!” was how the Gurranabraher-based public representative replied.

“But that’s to be expected! I’m really enjoying it. I’ve hit the ground running.

“The variety of issues that people come to me with is very diverse.

“It has been a great learning curve familiarising myself with the workings of City Hall and attending training days etc,” she added.

Ms Gould said she has always had a keen interest in politics and the local community and felt the time was right this year to seek election.

“I had been approached 10 years ago to put my name forward but at the time my children were too young. Now I felt this was the right time,” Ms Gould said.

“I was thrilled when I got elected especially since it was my first time running in a local election.

“It was an emotional moment for me and my family and I know that my late dad Barry Cotter would be so proud.”

Working to bring about an increased delivery of social and affordable housing is one of her key priorities, Ms Gould said.

“Since I’ve become a councillor, the amount of people contacting me looking for social housing is huge,” she said, also stating that she believes additional staff and funding should be sought to improve housing maintenance of existing housing stock.

Ms Gould said advocating for an improved bus service and improved water quality are two other key focuses for her.

Learning curve

In the South West ward, Ms Gould’s party colleague Joe Lynch said that naturally there has been a “learning curve” as a first-time councillor in terms of figuring out the way the council works and how different services are delivered, “but I think I’ve managed to hit the ground running representing the community” he added.

Mr Lynch described Ballincollig, where he lives, as a “special place full of great people” and spoke of the need to increase the supply of social and affordable homes in the area as well as across the city.

“Ballincollig is a very special place full of great people.

“The sense of community here is very important and one of the great tragedies of the housing crisis is that people I have grown up with — who have lived in Ballincollig and Carrigrohane their whole lives — cannot afford a home to buy or rent in the area, so increasing the supply of affordable homes locally and across the city is my number one priority for the coming council term,” he said.

When council meetings resume one of the first items councillors must agree is the budget for 2025, Mr Lynch pointed out.

“We’ll move quickly into considering the council’s budget for next year when council meetings resume, so ensuring there is adequate provision of local services, and that they are funded properly will be very important,” he said.

“The newly elected councillors will also be attending our first committee meetings which do very important work at a local level and at a policy level across the city.”

Also among the first-time councillors is the Green Party’s Honore Kamegni who made history in the recent local elections when he became the first black person to secure a seat on Cork City Council.

“Cork’s population is diverse and multicultural, our city council was not,” he said.

Determined to secure a seat on Cork City Council, Mr Kamegni said he canvassed for 14 months, knocking at over 15,000 doors.

“Hard work pays off, I was elected the first black councillor and the first black Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork last June.

“I feel very proud to have achieved this. I hope to inspire the future generation and I want my election to serve as a pathway to them,” he said. “If I did it, they can do it as well.”

Focus

Tackling dereliction is one issue he feels passionately about and said that this will be a key focus for him during his time on council.

Over the five-year term, the South East ward councillor said he would like to see the council “substantially clear dereliction” and increase the provision of housing “with a focus on developing brownfield regeneration sites within the existing built-up footprint of the city, particularly in the docklands, and supporting housing solutions that give people security and affordability”.

“The development of Horgan’s Quay and the Railyard Apartments are two live examples of the kind of good housing development I want to see,” Mr Kamegni continued.

Another key focus for the newly elected councillor is bringing the city’s transport system “into the 21st Century”, saying that an immediate priority must be to ensure there are enough bus drivers to make the planned new bus network a reality.

Another new councillor to make history in his own right in the 2024 locals was Pádraig Rice (Social Democrats) when he became the party’s first-ever councillor elected to Cork City Council.

“So far, being a councillor has been really interesting and really rewarding,” the Cork South Central councillor told The Echo.

“I have loved being able to help people and to raise issues of concern for people.

“It has also been frustrating at times.

“There are lots of things I would like to see changed, improved and modernised.”

Number one focus

The Ballyphehane-based councillor said housing will continue to be his “number one focus” when meetings resume.

“It’s a huge issue. Right now rents in Cork are unaffordable, and house prices are far too high for people on average incomes.

“We need far more houses to be built—but not any kind of housing—we need more affordable and social housing. It is the only way to end the housing crisis.

“Cork City Council has a key role to play in building these new sustainable communities.”

Footpath improvements, road repairs, and the provision of more public toilets in the city are also issues Mr Rice intends to focus on while he is a councillor.

“I also want to see real improvements to public spaces — including places like Douglas Street, which has so much potential and would really benefit from public realm improvements and street redesign.

“We must also take climate change more seriously.

“I hope that in five years time, we will have a better public transport system, more trees planted, and better preparation for flooding and other climate-related issues.”

Very positive

Meanwhile, Independent councillor Albert Deasy, who was born and reared on Pouladuff Road and who now lives in Bishopstown, said he has had a “very positive” experience so far since being elected onto Cork City Council for the first time.

“My fellow councillors have been very generous with their advice, the staff at City Hall are completely professional and supportive, and there is a very good flow of information.

“What I am enjoying most is meeting the people of the area and working to provide solutions to the issues they raise,” he said.

Mr Deasy said he felt both proud and grateful when it was announced that he had been elected to Cork City Council.

“I know the people and they want the same thing as me: A safe, affordable area, where we can rear and educate our families, and improve our lives by availing of opportunities to prosper. I am only a mouthpiece for that vision so when I was elected, I felt so proud of, and grateful to, those who favoured me with their vote,” he said.

The South West ward councillor said his immediate priority is “to press for a significant improvement in funding to address infrastructural shortfalls, especially in roads, footpaths and traffic calming”.

Mr Deasy said other key issues for him include city centre dereliction, loneliness and isolation being experienced by people in the city and working to ramp up the provision of affordable housing.