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Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork County Council workers 'are regular targets of road rage'
Cork County Council staff operating stop-go signs at roadworks are increasingly becoming victims of road rage. A senior council official has warned that workers have been abused and their lives put at risk by aggressive drivers ploughing past handheld stop signs. Padraig Barrett, who oversees Cork County Council's roads and transportation directorate, said council workers have been abused by drivers who sometimes refuse to obey signs, describing it as behaviour that 'wouldn't have happened 10 years ago'. He said gardaí 'are now picking up' on a number of road rage incidents. Co Cork mayor Mary Linehan Foley condemned the behaviour. Co Cork mayor Mary Linehan Foley criticised 'disgraceful' driver behaviour. 'Our staff are there to do a job and keep motorists safe from harm. Driver behaviour is getting increasingly disgraceful,' she said. 'In my East Cork region, there isn't a day goes by without residents in estates pleading for traffic calming measures to cut down on speeding.' Mr Barrett said motorists seemed to have become more impatient and aggressive, and he pointed to an increase in drug driving as a potential contributory factor. Senior gardaí in the region have reported a serious decline in driver behaviour, including catching people watching Netflix when they're behind the wheel. Road rage incidents have been reported on the eastern approaches to the Jack Lynch Tunnel, where three lanes are now merging into one after a major overhaul of the junction itself. Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty maintained congestion had become even worse since the new road network was introduced, describing the queuing as 'horrendous' at peak times. However, Mr Barrett said the €220m upgrade was crucial to controlling the congestion, as traffic numbers using the area are up by 10% on covid-era levels. He said that the council is liaising with Transport Infrastructure Ireland to see if there are any ways to address tailbacks. Carrigtwohill-based Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry said the congestion has gotten so bad that he now avoids the tunnel and heads straight into the city when going to meetings in County Hall.
Irish Independent
21-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Cork's highest-paid county councillor last year received nearly €80k, payments register reveals
Each year, the council publishes the total amount claimed by elected representatives across the county, outlining all expenses over the full calendar year. The overall bill for 2024 was €2,626,392, a 6.7% increase on the €2,461,723 paid out in 2023. The highest paid councillor was Fianna Fáil's Joe Carroll who earned €79,406, followed by party colleague Frank O'Flynn (€75,828). Both men served terms as County Mayor during 2024, a role which comes with an allowance of almost €21,000. Fermoy Councillor O'Flynn was County Mayor from June 2023 to June 2024 and was then succeeded by West Cork Councillor Carroll for the following year. Cllr Carroll's 2024 payment also included €1,302 arrears from 2023. In third place was Cllr Mary Linehan Foley. The Independent Youghal councillor earned €57,536 in 2024, followed by Fermoy's Deirdre O'Brien (€54,813) and Kanturk-Mallow's Gearoid Murphy (€54,608), both of Fianna Fáil. Cllrs Linehan Foley and O'Brien received a Municipal Chair allowance of €2,989 and €3,012 respectively for chairing the East Cork and Fermoy Municipal Districts while Cllr Murphy received an allowance of €6,230 as the chair of a Strategic Policy Committee. Cllr Murphy was also paid arrears of €1,014 for 2023 while Cllr Linehan Foley received €813 in arrears. Councillors get a taxable annual salary of €28,145, known as a Representational Payment, and an additional allowance of €3,162 a year. They can also claim expenses for training and attendance at events, conferences and external committees as well as foreign travel on council business. The bulk of the figure paid out to Cork's councillors in 2024 was accounted for by the Representational Payment (€1,653,420), followed by the annual expense allowance (€514,924). The Local Representative Allowance (LRA) cost €114,894. The LRA is payable on a vouched basis for expenditure up to €5,160 per annum incurred by the elected member in the performance of their duties. The other major expenditure items in 2024 were training expenses (€113,060) and allowances for Special Policy Committee chairs (€52,846), Municipal District chairs (€48,127) and County Mayors (€42,228). Three councillors availed of a once-off allowance of up to €2,500 to install security equipment in their homes or offices: Cobh Cllr Cathal Rasmussen (Labour), Carrigaline Cllr Una McCarthy (Fine Gael) and Cllr Mary Linehan Foley. The payment was introduced in 2023 following a number of security and safety incidents experienced by councillors around the country. Last year saw changes to the composition of Cork County Council with local elections in June in which some members were elected for the first time and others lost their seats or stepped down. That was followed by the general election in November when five of Cork's county councillors were elected to the Dáil and replaced by co-opted party colleagues. For those reasons, some councillors only incurred expenses for part of 2024. The full list of payments can be found on Cork County Council's website here: Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Irish Independent
03-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Cork community groups funded to reduce single-use plastics
Cork County Council has awarded over €52,000 in funding to 23 community groups as part of its Circular Economy Fund. The fund, now in its second year, supports local communities to take actions that reuse, recycle, and minimise waste. This year there's a particular focus on reducing single-use plastics. The 2025 fund invited applications from schools, Tidy Towns groups, sports clubs, and festival organisers, encouraging innovative proposals on how to reduce plastic waste. A wide range of projects will be supported this year, including reusable cup schemes in the community, reusable container schemes for meals on wheels, and the installation of permanent water refill stations at sports grounds and in schools. Other projects include community centres using reusable crockery rather than single-use plastics, and the provision of water stations at events. The successful applicants include the Transition Town Kinsale voluntary group (reusable cup scheme), Millstreet Community School (installation of an internal water bottle filling station), and Ballymaloe Grainstore (reusable cups/containers). 'It is very encouraging to see so many communities across the county taking meaningful steps to address single-use plastics and embrace circular economy principles. These communities are spearheading change, and each action, whether big or small, has the potential to make a lasting impact,' said the Mayor of County Cork, Cllr. Mary Linehan Foley. 'We are proud to work closely with local groups who continue to demonstrate vision, determination, and leadership in environmental stewardship. Their efforts are vital to making Cork a more sustainable place to live, work, and visit,' said Moira Murrell, Chief Executive of Cork County Council.
Irish Independent
02-07-2025
- Irish Independent
Public feedback sought on Cork-Kinsale Greenway preferred route
Funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland's (TII) Greenway Programme, the project will provide a greenway between Cork City and Kinsale as well as a link to future greenways in West Cork. This is the third public consultation on the project and will present the Emerging Preferred Route Corridor in three locations between 2 pm and 8 pm. The events will take place at Riverstick Community Centre (July 8), Acton's Hotel in Kinsale (July 15) and the Viaduct Restaurant & Bar, Old Bandon Road (July 22). At the events, the public will have an opportunity to meet the project team and provide feedback on the proposed route. The public consultation is also open online at until August 15. Submissions from all interested parties are welcomed. 'This is a significant project that aims to provide a sustainable, accessible, safe and attractive Greenway for locals and visitors to travel between two important destinations. Identifying the Emerging Preferred Route Corridor is a major milestone in the progression of the project,' said the Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Mary Linehan Foley. 'I encourage landowners within the corridor to participate in this public consultation, it is important to meet with the project team and express your views on the greenway.' The greenway project is now nearing completion of Phase 2, the option selection process. The second public consultation was held in autumn 2024 and presented the route corridor options.
