Irish Examiner view: Cork crime series reveals a city divided by neglect of the northside

Irish Examiner

8 hours ago

This week, we have been running the results of a lengthy assessment of crime statistics in Cork, breaking down more than 1,400 court reports published in these pages and by The Echo.
Our analysis has revealed some striking results, not least the disparity between the the two sides of the city. One significant takeaway is that people with an address on the northside of Cork City receive longer prison sentences, on average, than those from the southside. As noted by Eoin English here yesterday, this raises concerns about the ongoing inequality and the socioeconomic divide.
It can hardly come as a surprise, however, given the disparity in the way the two sides of the city are treated. For decades, the allocation of resources and facilities to the northern half of the city has been almost laughable. Older readers may recall that, in the 1980s, the northside was one of the few places in Ireland to lose an entire hospital when the North Infirmary was closed down, and an attitude of neglect persists.
That attitude is visible in real time for Cork natives even now. The much-vaunted light rail system which was unveiled recently for Cork crosses the River Lee to serve Kent Station but in real terms avoids the northside of the city almost entirely.
Inconsistencies in official perspectives are visible in comments from hapless local officials, who suggested the demand for light rail did not exist on the northside even though Apple, which employs thousands of people, has been calling for improved transport links for years. A long-overdue northern distributor road may take seven to 10 years to realise, according to one of those local officials.
It is hardly a surprise, then, to see crime and deprivation take stubborn root in pockets of an area so badly served by central government and local authorities. The complacency and indifference illustrated by the failures of officialdom are truly indictable offences.
Ireland's high-cost economy
As we get deeper into the summer, many readers will become more and more familiar with the following scenario: Meeting a friend or relative who has been abroad for a holiday, and who is still reeling in surprise at how cheap food and drink are in some foreign destinations.
That surprise is well founded. A new report from Eurostat has found that Ireland is the second most expensive country in Europe after Denmark, with the cost of Irish goods and services 38% higher than the EU average. In real terms, that means paying almost 15% more for groceries, 17% more for energy, and 105% more for alcohol and tobacco than average prices in other European countries.
There are some reasonable explanations on offer for some of those disparities. As an island remote from the European mainland, our costs are higher for transporting goods here, while the war in Ukraine following its illegal invasion by Russia underscored our essential vulnerability in areas such as energy.
However, the high costs are not entirely the result of circumstances either. Our high energy prices may rise further as a result of choices, such as our new embrace of data centres. Those centres now account for a staggering 22% of all metered electricity in Ireland.
This is putting pressure on an electricity infrastructure which is already creaking. A recent Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report suggested planning and regulatory delays for new projects are adding up to 10% to wholesale electricity costs, echoing the points made by Sean O'Driscoll of the ESRI here recently about the need for radical action to address our infrastructure crisis.
Is there a broader challenge lurking behind these specific issues? It is worth pointing out that the housing and accommodation crisis is a significant point of difference with some of the European countries used for comparison purposes here.
The effective regulatory framework which governs long-term renting in many of those countries compares unfavourably with the naked exploitation of renters in many parts of Ireland, exploitation which contributes hugely to the high cost of living here.
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New life for Dingle cinema
Good news for the people of Dingle this week, with Oscar-winning actor Cillian Murphy and his wife, the artist Yvonne McGuinness, detailing their plans to return one of the last family-run cinemas in the country back to a 'repurposed' version of its former glory.
Last year, the couple bought the town's Phoenix cinema, which closed down during the pandemic, which Ms McGuinness said they plan to reopen the venue as a not-for-profit arts centre hosting films, concerts, and a range of community events and workshops and 'flexible spaces', adding that it will take about three years to repurpose the cinema.
It is a happy ending for locals, who rallied to try to buy the cinema when it was put on the market three years ago. At that time, the Ionad Phoenix CLG group was formed with the express intention of turning the building into an arts centre, so the new owners' commitment to a similar scheme will be welcome.
Dingle is lucky in that it has local residents with a strong attachment to the cinema — and pockets deep enough to purchase it. However, turning a vacant building into an arts centre, with all its attendant benefits, may be a workable template for other towns and villages around Ireland, even those without Oscar-winners living nearby.