Renewed call for Cork city centre taskforce

Fine Gael’s Cork spokesman has renewed calls for a city centre taskforce.

A planned taskforce dedicated to the revival of Cork’s city centre was included in the programme for government, and in June Tánaiste Simon Harris told this newspaper he was anxious that it go ahead by the end of this year.

Last month, Mr Harris repeated his desire that a taskforce for Cork be urgently introduced, adding that when he was taoiseach, he had established a Dublin city centre taskforce which had resulted in clear benefits for the capital.

“I really want to see a dedicated Cork city centre taskforce established as an absolute priority,” Mr Harris told The Echo.

“It’s very clear that a Cork city centre taskforce could have really, really positive benefits for Cork city, for the economy in Cork, for making sure that we drive investment into Cork, and that we can plan for the essential infrastructure and growth needs of the city of Cork.”

Taoiseach

Last month, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told his fellow Cork South Central Fianna Fáil TD Seamus McGrath that a group would be set up to look at the terms of reference of such a body.

However, he added: “People do not like the word ‘taskforce’ in Cork – we are kind of fussy – so they are looking for a different title because the city has made progress”.

Now, Colm Burke, Fine Gael TD for Cork North Central and his party’s spokesman for Cork, has said the introduction of a taskforce should be a priority for Government.

“I have been speaking with businesses in the city centre and they are concerned about a decrease in business in the city centre, and we need to work toward finding the best way to help those businesses,” Mr Burke said.

“We also need to bring back into use buildings that are not being used in the city centre, we need to look at how we can fast-track the redevelopment of premises that are vacant, and the other issue is ensuring that we have high-quality rental accommodation within the city.”