February 2025
Hi, there! — Welcome to the thirty-fifth edition of my monthly newsletter to keep you up to date on my work for Cork City North East.
This month we have motions on getting the most from the car park at Mayfield library, installing CCTV to deter illegal dumping, pedestrian crossing times at Merchant’s Quay, and the lending of video games from public libraries — as well as questions on privacy for private-rental tenants and improvements to footpaths in Ballyvolane.
I’ve also included updates on the latest active travel works in Glanmire, the city’s Traveller Accomodation Programme, and issues with Google Maps tipping off motorists about Garda checkpoints.
As always, if there’s anything you ever want to get in touch about, feel welcome to email me any time at oliver.moran@greenparty.ie — even if it’s just to let me know your thoughts on this newsletter or anything else.
Please remember to share this newsletter with your friends and neighbours in the ward as well.
Many thanks!
Oliver
p.s. You can use this link to easily read and share all my monthly newsletters ... oliver.ie/newsletter
Motions and notions
Each councillor can submit up to four motions each month to Cork City Council and ask two formal questions of the Chief Executive. One of these questions is asked at the Local Area Committee and must be about local operational matters.
Before the deadline each month, I meet with my local group, the Cork City North Greens, and we agree motions and questions for the month ahead. We call this our “motions and notions” meeting :-)
If you have ideas or suggestions for a motion, or have a question you want asked, just let me know!
Or join the Cork City North Greens ... my.greenparty.ie
Questions
“To ask the Chief Executive what security and data protection standards are provided to tenants where data is collected on the inspection of private rented accommodation under Housing (Standards For Rented Houses) Regulations 2019, including those standards required from third-party inspectors?”
I will also ask the following question at the next meeting of the North East ward Local Area Committee:
“To ask the Chief Executive the status of the alternative cycle route from Clonard to Mervue Lawn, via Meelick Park and Kempton Park, under the Ballyvolane Strategic Transport Corridor; if this can be implemented as a shared surface amenity in addition to the main proposed scheme; and specifically the potential to improve the area between the North Ring Road/Clonard and Park Court that is currently an unpaved informal pathway.”
Motions
“That Cork City Council will resurface the carpark of Frank O’Connor Library, Mayfield; and promote its use as a Park and Stride location to nearby schools (including early childhood facilities).”
“That Cork City Council will install CCTV to deter and identify those responsible for illegal dumping at Orchard Court in Blackpool.”
“That Cork City Council will reduce the time needed for pedestrians to cross from Mary Elmes Bridge to Parnell Place at Merchants Quay, including examining the number of sequences before pedestrian lights show and the duration that pedestrian lights show green.”
“That Cork City Libraries will provide a library of video games to borrow, similar to some other local authorities in Ireland.”
Contributions
At February’s meeting of Cork City Council, I made spoken contributions on:
Flooding in the city, developing relations with a city in Palestine, expanding the city’s public toilets strategy, housing supports for victims of domestic violence, and more.
You can now watch back 📹 my contributions in the chamber on YouTube.
What’s happening?
Greenway underway in Glanmire
This month, Cork City Council will progress a fresh swathe of improvements for walking and cycling in Glanmire. These will include:
Building a new greenway linking Riverstown and Glanmire villages through John O’Callaghan Park.
Creating a new link road through Dooley’s Lane, with a footpath to Old Avenue.
Upgrading junctions at Glyntown, Hazelwood and at Riverstown Cross.
Completing the active travel route between Glanmire village and Glounthaune.
The works will begin in March and are expected to be completed by Summer 2026.
The greenway linking Riverstown and Glanmire villages through John O’Callaghan Park will effectively extend the amenity space of the park and tie Riverstown and Glanmire villages together.
Taken together with other projects, the outcome will be that it will be possible to walk or cycle safely and continuously from Brooklodge, through Riverstown and Glanmire villages, to Little Island or the city centre.
Preliminary works have already begun, including tree removal along Dooley’s Lane. Most of these were already planned and will be replaced in-situ.
However, a new section of footpath connecting to Old Avenue is an add-on and will see trees removed as well. I’m engaging with officials about how best these can be replaced in the Glanmire area and where.
Traveller Accommodation Programme
In January, Cork City Council agreed a new Traveller Accommodation Programme for the city.
The plan is the first one agreed since the publication of a damning Ombudsman for Children report into conditions at Spring Lane in 2021. In 2023, the city also produced a Traveller Equality Action Plan in reply to a request from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
I’m the chair of the Traveller Accommodation Committee and the new programme speaks to the work of staff in rising to the challenges put to the city.
I don’t believe there is a programme of this quality in any other local authority in the country. That includes the depth of research behind it. Particularly striking is involving Traveller children in presenting their experiences through drawings that stand out in the visual design of the report.
In the last Council term, we agreed a significant plan for Spring Lane and Ellis’ Yard. That involved significant political will as well as support from the wider community. Now that has to move from a “plan” to being a “programme” of delivery.
That isn’t going to be without challenge itself. Spring Lane is a live site and developing on any live site is difficult. For residents of Spring Lane, conditions are so severe that it’s hard to see beyond this week, never mind three or five years into the future.
That’s the new challenge we find ourselves facing and that we must overcome to deliver this programme.
At the same time, we have to progress other locations. In five years time, I want us to have agreed and even delivered accommodation for residents on Nash’s Boreen. A new site has to be identified for residents living on the Carrigrohane Straight too. There are also adjacent issues, like proposals for a horse project and issues around animal welfare.
Google Maps
This month, I wrote to An Garda Síochána and the Road Safety Authority to call on Google to remove a feature from its apps. The feature notifies motorists of speed cameras and Garda checkpoints ahead.
Such a feature warning of speed cameras appears to be contrary to 1991 regulations that prohibit devices used to indicate the existence of speed cameras and radar guns — but informing motorists of the presence of a Garda checkpoint ahead would be another step entirely.
Road safety group, Parc, agreed and have said the incoming Minister for Transport must examine these alerts issue and decide if further new legislation is required.
Checkpoints may be in place for reasons other than the detection of motoring offences. Warning of its presence may interfere with Garda operations and allow drink or drug drivers and serious criminals to evade gardaí.
The feature requires an explanation from Google as to who they are trying to help.
Is it in the interest of road safety or for the convenience of people who want to evade being caught? It’s the digital equivalent of flashing your lights, which many people do, but it’s not appropriate for a company to embed as a feature in its apps.
In the news…
Plans progressing for Cork city to twin with Palestinian city
Green Party Councillor Oliver Moran says its important to advance with the plan and “normalising relations with Palestine and building and developing relations.”
Cork’s 96fm, Thursday, 13 February
Self-repairing pothole research could have application for Cork roads
Oliver Moran said that “an astonishing” amount of money was being spent on the repair of estate roads and he would welcome anything that would reduce this cost.
Echo, Wednesday, 5 February
North East Local Area Committee meeting to be held today
Motions will include a motion by Green Party councillor, Oliver Moran, that Cork City Council will designate the Glen River Park as a “dark space”, free of artificial light.
Echo, Monday, 27 January
Keep in touch
Thanks for reading! Please feel welcome to share this newsletter and invite other people you know to subscribe — and, if you can, please consider making a donation to my political activities in the ward.
You can also keep up to date with my activities on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Mastodon and TikTok. And don’t forget, you can email me any time at oliver.moran@greenparty.ie.
Have a great month!
