Cork councillor wants end to use of schools as polling stations

Cork’s county sheriff is being asked to end the use of primary schools as polling stations, so they will not interfere with early education.

Fine Gael councillor Aileen Browne won unanimous cross-party support at a meeting of Cork County Council after she outlined that in 2024, young children lost three days of schooling due to elections.

Ms Browne said this also led to parents having to take time off or pay for expensive childcare.

She said there are many community centres and sports halls which have excellent facilities and should be used instead.

She pointed out that for the 2024 local elections, across the 10 local electoral areas (LEAs) in Cork county, 149 out of the total 225 polling stations were in schools – representing 66% of all polling stations. 

"More significantly, those school-based polling stations serve over 147,000 electors, accounting for approximately 65% of the entire electorate in the county. With no election hopefully due for several years, now is the time to address this issue,” 

Ms Browne said.

In her own Kanturk electoral area, 22 of the 23 polling stations used – 96% – were schools.

The Macroom municipal district, which covers all of mid-Cork and Millstreet, was next highest with 23 of the 28 polling stations situated in schools. 

In third place was the Carrigaline municipal area, where there were 18 polling stations, of which 14 (82%) were schools. 

In the Cobh municipal district there were 13 schools used for the 17 polling stations (76%).

In the Skibbereen electoral area, which forms half of the West Cork Municipal District Council, along with Bantry, there were 15 schools used out of a total of 23 polling stations (65%).

There were 13 schools among the 25 polling stations in the Fermoy area (52%) with 15 schools in Bandon electoral area of its total of 29 (52%). The lowest percentage, 47%, was in the Mallow area, with eight schools used as stations, out of 17 venues.