January 2024
Hi, there! — Welcome to the twenty-second 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 new footpaths in Glanmire and Mayfield, maintaining the heritage of the St Luke’s area, as well as motions and questions on improving amenities and progressing new parks.
I’ve also included updates on the city’s new trees strategy, catching fly-tippers, and the on-going problem of discoloured water for residents in the city.
If you have thoughts or feedback on an issue in the ward, or if there is anything you want to get in touch about, please always feel welcome to email me at oliver.moran@greenparty.ie.
Please share this newsletter with your neighbours and friends in the ward too.
Many thanks!
Oliver
p.s. You can use this link to easily share this newsletter ... oliver.ie/newsletter
Motions and notions
Every month, each councillor can submit up to four motions 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 for progress in Cork City Council taking ownership of the area under the footbridge from Clifton Terrace to the Lower Glanmire Road from CIÉ and for its use as a community park?”
I will also be able to ask a formal question at the Local Area Committee meeting this month, which I will submit closer to the date.
Motions
“That Cork City Council will install a footpath connecting The Elmes in Castlejane, Glanmire, along the L2983, to the junction with Barnavara Hill; if national active travel funding would be available for this scheme; and report on relevant junction upgrades at the same junction for safe pedestrian crossing and management of motor traffic.”
“That Cork City Council will install a bow-top railing, or similar, on top of the wall along Alexandra Road to replace the damaged wire fencing, for public safety and to prevent the disposal of domestic waste over the fence onto the community garden below.”
“That Cork City Council will provide pedestrian/cycle infrastructure and install public lighting between the Banduff Road and New Inn School, noting (a) the objective for a looped walkway/cycleway connecting the Banduff Road to New Inn School outlined on Map 5 of Volume 2 of the Cork City Development Plan 2022–28, (b) funding already in place for a walkway and public lighting around the green area at Tinker’s Cross, which would form a further part of this looped walkway, and (c) motion 23/329 relating to Borreen na Coilla from New Inn School to Burke’s Hill, which would form another further portion of this looped walkway.”
“That Cork City Council will trial solutions to speed up a weathered appearance of schotcrete applied to the bedrock of a historic wall on Gardiner’s Hill, and encourage the growth of mosses, lichens and plant covering (e.g. strawberry plants, climbing roses, etc.), including the application of live yoghurt culture; and a toolkit of approaches shall be developed for future works like this, reflecting varied local circumstances.”
What’s happening?
Cork’s first trees strategy
Later this month, Cork City Council will publish its first trees strategy for public consultation. It will come after Cork City Council adopted its first Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy as part of the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028 in August 2022.
Adopting a trees strategy was a key goal of the Green Party when we were elected to the city council in 2019. Amazingly, before then the city had no strategy for trees and was removing more trees every year than it was planting.
Today, there are over 310,000 trees and over 1,400 kilometres of hedgerows in the city area, and the city is planting about 4,000 new trees every year.
The strategy will set out the council’s policies to manage trees in the public realm, retain existing trees in the city, plant new ones — and it will set out the basis for a long-term trees strategy, including ecological corridors and woodlands.
Trees are important from all kinds of perspectives. From practical reasons, like flood prevention, air quality and the blocking of traffic noises, to less obvious benefits like the economy and personal well-being. There can also be problems with trees like damage to footpaths, if they are poorly planted, and the perception of risk and liability.
For these reasons, “the right tree in the right place at the right time” will be a key message in the city’s first trees strategy.
The strategy will include objectives that involved public and corporate bodies, as well as private individuals and community groups. The public consultation is expected later this month at consult.corkcity.ie.
Catching fly-tippers in the act
Last month, new legislation was signed into law that will make it easier to catch fly-tippers and illegal dumping in the city. This is the Circular Economy Act 2022, which was led by my party colleagues, Eamon Ryan and Ossian Smyth.
Among other things, the law will enable Cork City Council to identify households without a waste collection service and to install CCTV to monitor areas affected by fly-tippers.
This is a principle that’s already been in place for some time. However, there was doubt over whether the previous legislation was fit-for-purpose and that prevented it being used. These new updated laws make it compatible with European data protection regulations.
It means that Cork City Council can now request a list of customers from waste collection companies. If a household is noticed to be missing from the list they can be approach directly about how they are disposing of their waste.
There are certainly some households who responsibly manage their own waste themselves, using composting, the civic amenity and a zero-waste lifestyle. The commitment from officials in Cork City Council is that they are going to take a pragmatic approach to allowing households demonstrate that this is the case.
However, for those households without commercial services and who are dumping or fly-tipping, this is going to be a game changer for Cork City Council. It will take about six months to get everything in place that’s necessary to enforce the waste bye-laws this way, but once ready, officials intend to go hell-for-leather to combat fly-tipping and illegal dumping.
The same set of laws that is enabling this approach also clears up the situation with using CCTV to catch fly-tippers as well, which is also something long demanded by local communities blighted by illegal dumping.
Help and guides for households to know how to manage waste responsibly is available at mywaste.ie, including information on bring banks, recycling facilities and ways to reduce waste, reuse material and upcycle.
Discolouration of drinking water
I am continuing to engage with Uisce Éireann (the new name for Irish Water) on the on-going problem of discoloured water on the northside of the city.
The root cause, described to me by Uisce Éireann, is sediment in water mains stirred up by improvements taking place on the network. They have undertaken “flushing” to clear the loose sediment in response to complains from the public and my own contacts.
This “flushing” is continuing, however, problems with discoloured water are still persisting for households, including over the Christmas period. Unfortunately, the problem has been going on long enough and the approaches taken by Irish Water aren’t working.
At December’s meeting of Cork City Council, my Green Party colleague, Dan Boyle, who chairs the Environment and Water committee, said he would call Uisce Éireann before the committee in the new year. I’ve been in close contact with Dan about this and the formal invitation has been issued to Uisce Éireann to attend.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also confirmed in December that they have opened an investigation into the problem. The EPA are responsible for regulating Uisce Éireann from an environmental perspective and I’ve written to them about the case.
The longevity of the issue is seriously affecting residents, who have demonstrated extraordinary patience but who cannot depend on the water that comes from their taps. Those who can afford it are investing in water filters. Many are resorting to purchasing water. Advice from Uisce Éireann is to store tap water in jugs in fridges when it is clear.
As well as affecting water for drinking and cooking, the issue affects the bathing of new born children. Adult children are concerned about elderly parents and others who are living independently but with increased needs.
I am concerned that the nature of the problem — its longevity but without the issuing of a formal “no drink” notice — will cause the problem to be treated with less seriousness than if circumstances were different. However, I feel its continuation is now intolerable from the perspective of the environmental regulation of the utility.
I’m continuing in communication with Uisce Éireann on the issue. However, I believe they will need to come up with new answers when the meet with Cork City Council. Their current efforts to flush the sediment clear of the water mains simply isn’t working for residents and the issue needs resolving.
In the news…
Councillor relays residents’ opposition to ‘shotcreting’ on Gardiner’s Hill
Earlier this month, Green Party councillor Oliver Moran expressed concerns over ‘shotcreting’ works undertaken on the historic wall in the area.
Echo, Friday, 29 December
Cork suburb to benefit from new pedestrian and public transport scheme
Residents are expected to benefit greatly from the new scheme, said Green Party Councillor for Cork City North East, Oliver Moran.
Irish Independent, Thursday, 21 December
Parking tickets galore on McCurtain Street
Oliver Moran chats to PJ Coogan after it was disclosed nearly 100 people received parking tickets on McCurtain Street.
96fm, Friday, 15 December
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 2024 re-election campaign.
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Have a great month!
