Cork Business Association wants extension of the city’s boundary

Pat O’Connell, president of the Cork Business Association, said that the city will never be financially sustainable due to its restricted rates base.

He said city services are being used daily by people who pay rates to the County Council.

“Everyone is ignoring the elephant in the room: Cork needs an extension badly.

“Look at Little Island, Cork Airport and, even, Ringaskiddy — these are all just minutes from the city and are using city services every day, but their rates go to the County Council. It’s lunacy. You can’t have a city that functions properly on this limited a budget.”

While Cork City Council scrambled to plug a €1.6 million deficit in its finances, counterparts in the County announced an ‘expansionary’ budget that includes a €306 million spend on services.

More than €122 million will go to roads and housing, while County businesses will enjoy a rates rebate. The local authority retained some €10 million in reserve funds.

Meanwhile, city businesses will face a 1.25% commercial rates hike, increased parking costs and a reduction in the Economic Development Fund.

Mr O’Connell said, “The size of the city is causing us to be financially strangled. It comes down to a lack of funding — if the rates from these areas went to the city, it would help us to grow business and grow jobs.”

While city officials included a rebate scheme for 2018 to offset the rates hike in 2017, Mr O’Connell said it will make little difference to struggling businesses in the city.

“You’d worry about some traders. If you don’t have the money, you can’t pay on time and you don’t get the rebate if you haven’t paid on time.

“So many businesses are absolutely struggling. A 3% rebate won’t even come into it in a lot of cases.”

A cloud of uncertainty is hanging over city businesses, according to Mr O’Connell.

“In the last eight or nine weeks, it has gone a bit flat after the summer. There was a buzz in the air, but you can see that Brexit, the sterling collapse and Trump all have put a spanner in the works.”