Legal advice sought by Cork councillors
Outraged county councillors will again seek legal advice over ministerial directives demanding changes be made to the Cork County Development Plan (CDP).
At a full meeting of Cork County Council on Monday, elected members across all parties expressed their anger at Minster for Local Government Peter Burke’s latest and final directives regarding zoning plans in Fermoy, Carrigtwohill and Bantry.
On the recommendation of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR), Minister Burke instructed the council to reverse its decision to rezone green belt land in Fermoy for industrial use. He also ordered the council to reinstate agricultural zoning to land in Bantry that had been zoned for housing. Finally, Minister Burke changed plans for medium density housing to high density housing on a number of sites in Carrigtwohill.
Cork County Council has already won 2 High Court cases against Minister Burke’s previous directives involving the development of a €100 million retail outlet centre in Carrigtwohill.
At Monday’s meeting, councillors said these latest ministerial directives again undermine the authority of local government and called on the executive to seek legal advice on mounting a High Court Appeal.
Mayor of the County of Cork, Independent Cllr Danny Collins, said there are people crying out for houses in his home town of Bantry and he urged his fellow councillors to “go back and fight” the new directives.
The mayor said: “I'm not happy. I can't see how a minister from Mullingar can make a decision for zoning down in West Cork. The only thing I even knew that came out of Mullingar was Joe Dolan.”
Fermoy Fianna Fáil Cllr Frank O’Flynn said nobody knows what’s happening in their area better than the local councillors on the ground and that Minister Burke would not have signed off on the retail outlet centre had Cork County Council not taken legal action.
“He was afraid of the judges, he was afraid of the steps of the High Court because we were going to take him all the way,” said Cllr O’Flynn.
Councillors also called on the executive to reach out to other local authorities around the country to mount a joint campaign against central government interference with local government decisions.
West Cork Fianna Fáil Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy said the council now stands at a “watershed moment” and cannot go it alone.
“We need councils from all over the country to stand up and take this fight on. They cannot erode any more of our powers. Nameless faces telling us what's best for Bantry, what's best for Fermoy, what's best for Carrigtwohill. We know best and it's about time we stood up and took them on,” he said.
In closing, Council Chief Executive Tim Lucey urged caution amongst councillors regarding High Court action but said he would go about seeking legal advice and report back.