Officials at Cork City Council's Docklands Directorate are optimistic that cutbacks to infrastructure funding announced this week will not negatively impact on crucial developments planned for the city's docks area.

The City Council are currently waiting to find out if a joint application for funding through the National Spatial Strategy's Gateways Innovation Fund (GIF) by Cork city and county councils along with the Port of Cork has been successful.

The likelihood of a successful outcome was thrown into doubt this week when Taoiseach Brain Cowen confirmed that the €300 million fund would be reduced by 10 per cent as part of the wide-ranging cutbacks announced by the Government.

The Cork application for funding is one of several from around the country competing for a slice of the now reduced GIF pie with the winners due to be announced in the next two weeks.

Speaking to the Cork Independent, Pat Ledwidge, Director of the City Council's Docklands Directorate said he believed that the Cork bid was very strong and still stood a good chance of acheiving the necessary funding.

"Our view is that we are experiencing short-term problems in the economy but the Docklands project is a long-term plan. That's why we give a 15 to 20 year timescale, to take account of the potential ups and downs in the economy," he said.

He added, "The Government have said they are going to target investment into projects of real economic benefit and our application would certainly fall into that category. we are seeking funding for basic, long-term infrastructure which surely puts us in a good position".

The Cork application is seeking €117 million in funds from the GIF to compete vital infrastructure in the Docklands to enable further development including a major new bridge across the River Lee, road infrastructure and vital utilities. The application also includes proposals for developments in East Cork and the relocation of the Port of Cork.