Cost of parking in Cork City not set to increase, according to council's budget for next year

• An almost €11m increase in housing funding;
• A €4.7m increase in Croí Conaithe funding;
• An €8.2m increase in payroll costs, including €1.2m extra for the fire service;
• And an extra €200,000 for homeless services.

Council chief executive Ann Doherty said 2024 is set to be another “challenging and uncertain year”, with cost of living issues, inflation and payroll increases due to national pay agreements among the biggest financial challenges.

“The payroll increase has not yet been quantified for 2024, the price of energy and the cost of inflation, which somewhat stabilised in 2023, continue to remain uncertain and volatile and are continuously changing,” she said.

“These areas will require close monitoring during 2024. However, we would hope that the volatility experienced in 2021 to 2023 would significantly diminish as we head into 2024.” 

Ms Doherty told the meeting that since 2009, the council has increased commercial rates by a cumulative 5%, far below the cumulative inflation rate for that 14-year period, and that after a 3.8% increase for 2023, there is no proposed increase in the rate next year.

A proposal from Rabartha Glas Cllr Lorna Bogue for an amended tariff scheme for local business rates was rejected 16 votes to eight, with several rate-paying councillors absenting themselves from the vote.

Ms Doherty said the council recognises the significant challenges facing commercial ratepayers, especially smaller businesses, and pointed to an enhanced rates incentive scheme which was introduced this year and extended to now cover 80% of all ratepayers, subject to certain conditions.

She said that while there will be no increase in parking costs next year, over 440 car parking spaces have been lost to the city over the last three years because of pedestrianisation and the development of cycle lanes, and the city will need to budget for that loss of income in the years ahead.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Sean Martin, chairman of the council’s finance committee, said this fifth and final budget in the life of this council will see significant increases in spending across every department since its first budget 2009.

He said the housing and building budget has increased from €48.7m to almost €99m, roads and transport spending has increased from €29.2m to €56m, recreation and amenity has increased from €23m to €31m, and investment in mortgage to rent and leasing facilities has rocketed from €1.6m to €27.5m — a 1,543% increase. He added:

By any stretch, this has been a very productive council, and there has been huge input from central government.

But Labour Cllr John Maher, who supported the budget, said it must be remembered that the increase has occurred against the backdrop of an expanded city.

Councillors also supported a proposal from Fine Gael Cllr Shane O’Callaghan for the reallocation of certain funding to provide a once-off €10,000 grant to Comhaltas Douglas, to help it host the Cork County Fleadh next May.

The budget includes €418,500 in councillor ward funds — up €31,000 on this year, or €13,500 per member, for a €2.2m spend on disabled person grants, and for a €2.5m spend on events, community, arts and sport, with sports grants alone increasing €30,000 to €500,000.

Some €2m has been set aside for the council’s local area committees — €28,000 more than this year — for spending, at the discretion of each committee, on projects such as estates resurfacing, traffic calming, and pedestrian crossings.

And, €205,700 has been set aside to support city centre strategies.