Seven out of eight Council districts reject budgets for 2027

Seven out of eight municipal district councils in Cork have rejected their budgets for 2027, angered that won’t take into account construction inflation, as well as imminent staff pay increases.

Councillors from different parties representing the overwhelming majority of municipalities in the region rejected their budgets, maintaining they'll have to cut services as a result.

Many have added they can’t even keep pace this year with inflationary pressures and growing populations. The only municipality to agree to a 2027 budget was the Bandon/Kinsale council.

All the rest voted unanimously and cross-party to reject their budgets and send them back to senior officials in County Hall in the hope they'll increase them.

There has been much anger amongst councillors in the Carrigaline municipality, which administers the largest town in the county.

It is forecast that an extra 1,000 new homes are expected to be built in Carrigaline each year over the next five years.

The municipality received just €8m for next year’s budget. Already there are signs that cash is running out this year in the municipality and councillors say if they can’t keep pace now, they cannot be expected to provide adequate services when the population of the town is expected to increase by a further 3,000 in 2027.

There has been similar anger expressed in the Cobh municipality which also got around €8m. The population is also increasing in Cobh, but more dramatically in Carrigtwohill, which the municipality also governs.

It controls the biggest ratepaying area by far in the entire county, with major companies in IDA-controlled industrial estates in Carrigtwohill and a huge number of commercial and industrial units in nearby Little Island.

Councillors there maintain, with some justification, that it’s completely unfair that the multiple millions of euro cascading into the county council’s central coffers from these ratepayers aren’t filtering down to the local municipal district for the vital service supports the area needs.

Smaller municipal district councils have received much larger budgets. The West Cork municipality got the largest, at around €20m. This raised some eyebrows with envious colleagues in other districts.

However, the West Cork area has the largest roads network of anywhere in the county, and many of the roads are crumbling. It also has the second highest population, behind Carrigaline.

Many areas of West Cork would be classified as disadvantaged and in need of proppin-up. In addition, its municipality has to administer seven islands, which is extremely costly. It also has more piers and harbours than anywhere else, which are also expensive to maintain.

Councillors are also angered that their ‘local budgets’ are being foisted upon them before they know the full details of the overall county council budget to be revealed on November 9.