City council agree an expenditure budget of €362.2m
The Chief Executive of Cork City Council Valerie O’Sullivan has said the preparation of the 2026 budget was challenging.
She said the difficulty came from factors like cost-of-living increases, and cost of doing business - which also impact the city council - increased demand for services against a backdrop of payroll increases on foot of national pay agreements, among the significant financial challenges in the year ahead.
To enhance and maintain the existing levels of service provided by the city council in the face of economic uncertainty and increased costs, it was necessary to review all income streams and expenditures on a constant basis, she said.
Her comments came after Cork City Council agreed an expenditure budget of €362.2m for 2026 at its annual budget meeting which is nearly a €36m increase on this year.
The main contributors to the increase in expenditure are:
- €14.9m increase in homeless funding
- €8.7m increase in Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) funding/repair and lease – funding support provided by local authorities to approved housing bodies to help fund the construction or purchase of new social housing units
- €1.1m increase in funding for Croi Conithe
- €3.8m increase in payroll to meet national pay agreements
- €1m increase in Local Area Committee funding
- €1m increase in the Disabled Person’s Grant fund
- €650,000 increase in footpath repairs and tree management.
The council also approved a 5% increase in commercial rates. It is reintroducing a rates incentive scheme to offer a rebate of up to 4% to qualifying rate payers, and it has not increased car parking charges for either on-street or the city council-owned car parks.
Commercial rates
“Since 2009, the city council has increased commercial rates by a cumulative 5% - far below the cumulative inflation rate for that 16 year period. However, in order to produce a balanced budget, it will be necessary to have a rate increase,” O’Sullivan said. She added that the council recognises the challenges facing commercial rate payers, especially the smaller businesses who have seen cost of running their business increase in recent years. In recognition of those, she said the council is reintroducing a rates incentive scheme which will give a 4% rebate for all rate payers who have an annual rates liability of up to €4,000, and a 2% rebate for those rate accounts from €4,001 to €10,000. This means that 75% of all ratepayers will benefit from the rate incentive scheme.
These ratepayers will experience an increase of between €8 and €290 on their annual rates bill – the equivalent of an increase of between €0.15 and €5.57 per week. There will be no application process - rate accounts which meet the qualifying criteria will have the grant automatically applied as a credit to their account in 2027.
To qualify for the rebate, ratepayers must have their account settled in full by 30 November 2026 and have no outstanding arrears on their account. Ratepayers that pay their account on a payment plan will also qualify for the grant.
Ms O’Sullivan also made reference to the index-linked annual payment Cork City Council has to pay to Cork County Council for at least 10 years under the terms of the 2019 city boundary extension, and which has increased substantially in recent years.
“This is not a sustainable cost for Cork City Council. The council is engaging with the department in relation to the additional indexation cost. That cost is not included in the 2026 Budget,” she said.
Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Fergal Dennehy said: “We acknowledge that it includes an increase in commercial rates, a decision not taken lightly. This adjustment is necessary to sustain the level of service our city requires and deserves. However, we are equally committed to ensuring that ratepayers are supported through this transition. The rates rebate scheme will help businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, in managing the impact of the rate increase. We will continue to engage with the business community to ensure transparency, fairness, and access to the resources they need to thrive. Together, we can build a city that works for everyone.”
The elected members voted 23 in favour of adopting the budget and eight against.
This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.