November 2025
Hi, there! — Welcome to the forty-fourth 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 road signs for cyclists, funding for Mayfield Sports Complex, remembering a vision of hell in Cork, and the viability of incineration in Cork Harbour — as well as questions on the installation of bus stops and the disposal of asbestos from demolition 25 years ago.
I’ve included updates on pedestrian infrastructure across the ward, a proposal for a new interchange at Tivoli, and the city’s budget for 2026.
As always feel welcome to get in touch by email at email@oliver.ie. I look forward to hearing from you about issues in the ward, or if you have any thoughts or comments on this newsletter.
Please remember too to share this newsletter with your friends and neighbours in the ward.
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 the legal powers being used by the National Transport Authority to install bus stops and associated works in advance of the expanded city bus network; if Cork City Council has been provided with drawings and other materials illustrating the works planned; and if these can be provided to members of Cork City Council?”
I will also ask the following question at the next meeting of the North East ward Local Area Committee:
“To ask the Chief Executive to confirm that asbestos was used in the construction of the Blackpool flats demolished in 1999; if records exist of this material being disposed of properly; or if it should be assumed that it is among the material illegally dumped in lands off the Old Whitechurch Road; and if she knows what other materials may have been dumped at this location?”
Motions
“That Cork City Council will trial the provision of yield signs for pedal cyclists, electric scooter users and e-moped drivers at traffic lights in the city, as provided for by the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 2025, SI No. 473 of 2025.”
“That, on the 50th anniversary of the opening of Mayfield Sports Complex, Cork City Council will engage with the Department of Education to review the management and funding structure of the complex to ensure the sustainability of its services for the community into the future; and so that it can effectively access funding and supports available to other community facilities.”
“That Cork City Council will erect a statue or other monument to the Irish knight, Tnugdalus, who in 1148, after drinking to excess in the city of Cork, collapsed into a death-like coma that lasted three days. Upon waking he recounted the horrors he experienced in the afterlife, providing the seminal medieval account of hell, including lakes of boiling pitch, shrieking demons with pitchforks and sinners roasted and chewed in monstrous mouths. His horrors reshaped how the Western world imagines eternal damnation and became the raw material that gave Europe its most enduring nightmares, influencing art, literature and culture to the present day, all based on one man’s near-death vision of hell in the city of Cork.”
“That this Council asks that the government include a levy on incineration in the forthcoming Finance Bill, as had been previously included and taken out of earlier waste management legislation; in order that the true economic, social and environmental costs on incineration technology be measured, and that the viability of proposed use of the technology be properly assessed. In Cork Harbour over a twenty five year period, this region has been tormented with the threat to impose this technology without properly measuring its cost.” (Joint motion with Cllrs. Dan Boyle and Honoré Kamegni.)
In addition to the above, I also put the following emergency motion:
“That there will be an extraordinary meeting of the Transport and Mobility SPC to consider the proposal for an interchange at the Dunkettle roundabout being put forward by the Port of Cork, prior to an application being lodged in relation to the proposal; that the Port of Cork shall be invited to present to the meeting; and that the Chief Executive will advise Cork City Council on the legal processes involved vis-à-vis the statutory functions of Cork City Council.“
Spoken contributions
At this month’s meeting of Cork City Council, I made spoken contributions on:
The installation of bus stops as part of the expanded city bus network
Improving service requests to Cork City Council for residents
The creation of a children’s cycle track by the community in St. Luke’s
Modifying one-off housing policy and answering the housing emergency
Defunding of the Tenant-in-Situ scheme for renters facing eviction
Transparency in housing applications for people on the housing list
Solidarity between local authorities on the proposed incinerator in Cork Harbour
At the annual budget meeting, I also made the following contribution:
You can watch back my previous contributions in the chamber on YouTube and share these with the link oliver.ie/videos.
What’s happening?
Pedestrian works across the ward
This month, Cork City Council will begin construction of new safe, continuous and high-quality footpaths along the Banduff Road.
The works will include upgrading the existing footpaths on both sides of the road. This will involve new pedestrian crossings and better accessibility at the entrance to estates. Public lighting will also be installed along the length of the road.
The works will add new bus stops, which are part of the roll-out of the new city bus network — meaning the Banduff Road will now finally be served with a bus route of its own.
The works on the Banduff Road are expected to take six months.
They are part of a transformation of pedestrian infrastructure happening across the ward. This is particularly noticeable in the Ballyvolane and Glanmire areas, but they are happening in all parts of the ward too, even if more incrementally.
Work will soon begin on the greenway linking Riverstown to Glanmire village and a final section to Gaelscoil Uí Drisceoil.
In the St Luke’s area, new safety improvements will include a raised pedestrian crossing and a new crossing will be installed near the Glen River Park. The upgrading of existing footpaths will happen too at locations across the ward as part of a €800,000 investment.
All of these works will enable safer commuting and access to local amenities for everyone. If you have questions about any of these schemes, or other ones in planning, feel welcome to get in touch.
Tivoli interchange
This month, councilors were caught off-guard with a surprise announcement by the Port of Cork. The port authority intends to build an €80m interchange on the Lower Glanmire Road.
The port requires access to the eastern side of their lands at Tivoli. However, the scale of the proposal wasn’t foreseen in plans agreed with councillors, like the Cork Metropolitan Transport Strategy.
Moreover, the proposal is being brought to planning as a private planning application.
Because of the process that the Port of Cork is taking, there won’t be a public consultation on the proposal like residents have come to expect with other road projects. Despite being a public road, it will be a straight-up planning application from the Port of Cork, as if it were a private planning matter.
This week, I organised a public meeting with my cross-party ward colleague, John Maher, on the matter.
There are issues I would highlight as being a problem in the proposal, for example:
Access to the Dunkettle Interchange for traffic coming from the Tivoli site.
An additional 500m for active travel distance (compared to Cork City Council’s plans) and the need to share a bridge with multiple lanes of motor traffic.
How this plan should be seen alongside other plans, such as the Northern Distributor Road.
It’s unclear what the projected usage of the interchange will be and if the scale and investment (which will be public money) warrants it.
However, for me, the process is probably the most incredible aspect of this project.
That an application for a roads project of this size, with no accompanying housing, can come through a channel that requires people to pay a €20 fee to have their say. There will be no non-statutory rounds of open public input before then.
On foot of an emergency motion that I put to this month’s meeting of Cork City Council, the Port of Cork will now meet with the Transport & Mobility committee on the matter. That needs to be an emergency meeting because the planning application is expected to be lodged in December.
As with any private planning application, there’s a delay before the application is verified and information is made available online. So we’re looking at a few weeks over the Christmas period for people to make their views known, which I think is incredible for such a large-scale project with an impact on the public like this.
City budget for 2026
This month Cork City Council agreed on its budget for 2026. Overall, the budget includes current spending for the year of over €360m, which is an increase of €35 million year-on-year.
Some of the increased spending was additional payroll costs of €3.8m. However, the majority was in the area of housing, particularly an additional:
€8.7m extra for the purchase or lease of housing
€1.1m extra to close the “viability gap” of certain private housing developments
€1m extra for disabled people’s grants for housing adaptation
The greatest of all is an increase of €14.9m in homeless services, reflecting the severity of the housing emergency.
In day-to-day activities, ward-level budgets, which are administered directly by local councillors, were increased by €1m annually, divided between the five wards. There will also be an increase in the footpath repair and tree management budgets of €650k.
To fund this increased spending, rates on commercial businesses were increased. However, this is accompanied by the re-introduction of a rebate for nearly 80% of businesses.
Overall, the effect on rate payers is as follows:
Rate payers currently paying €1,000 (the first 18% of all rate payers pay less than this) will pay an additional €8 per annum.
Those paying €2,000 (the next 15% pay less than this) will pay an additional €16 per annum.
Those paying €3,000 (13%) will pay an additional €24 per annum.
Those paying €4,000 (9%) will pay an additional €32 per annum.
Those comprise a majority (54%) of all rate payers in the city.
With respect to larger businesses, a rate payer who currently pays €10,000 will pay an additional €290 per annum. Nearly 80% of all rate payers pay less than this amount per year.
The budget will also fund a new City Centre Development & Operations directorate, which has been established to focus attention on the city centre.
This directorate will take ownership of capital investment in the city centre (e.g. public realm projects) as well as day-to-day operations like street cleaning. The directorate will also manage the Economic Development Fund (€770,400) and the City Centre Strategy (€193,500).
In the news…
Fears voiced in Cork over revived plans for €200m incinerator in harbour – ‘it is a city issue too’
Green Party councillor, Oliver Moran, said that “we may recognise the boundary between the city and the county but air pollution doesn’t. It is one Cork harbour.”
Irish Independent, Monday, 17 November
Cork City Council to use new system to live-stream meetings
Green Party councillor, Oliver Moran, said: “The technology will allow the public to join and see a live version of the agenda and where the meeting is.”
Echo, Monday, 10 November
Gas debate sets City Hall on fire
Green Party councillor, Oliver Moran, highlighted that, “Trump’s administration has put more of an emphasis in Europe on its own energy independence.”
Cork Independent, Wednesday, 29 October
Keep in touch
Thanks for reading! Please feel welcome to share this newsletter and invite other people you know to subscribe. If you can, please consider making a donation to my political activities in the ward.
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Have a great month!
