‘At least 20 years’ to replace street lights

It will take more than 20 years to replace the street lights in Cork city that were identified as in need of replacement with the current level of funding available to Cork City Council.

The 2021 Public Lighting Strategy for Cork City identified 11,500 street lights that need replacement.

The figures were released in response to a question by Cllr Peter Horgan at this week’s full council meeting.

The lights are in need of replacing due to “structural deterioration, electrical cable non-compliance etc.”, according to Director of Services John Stapleton in his written response.

Stapleton said with the current level of funding available for the replacement of lighting, the council expects to replace around 179 lights this year.

“At that rate, it’s going to take more than 20 years to replace them all,” he said.

He said that each light will cost approximately €10,000.

“It isn’t just the light, the head - it’s the digging up of the road, it’s the reinstatement of footpaths, and cabling, and all that goes with that,” he said.

He said that if more funding can be secured, which the council will be seeking, the timeline can be accelerated.

Cllr Peter Horgan said that the timeline indicated by the Director of Services wasn’t acceptable.

"Twenty years is far too long a timeframe for public lighting to be repaired across Cork.

“What we need is a serious capital cash injection on this potentially from multiple sources. Public lighting means public safety and we cannot wait 20 years for that to be achieved,” he said.

The council has fully replaced 479 columns since 2021, and 179 columns are scheduled for completion halfway through 2026.

The council identified the “significant national pressures on ESB Networks scheduling” as being one of the causes for delays. There is currently a 9 months waiting period following completion of civil and electrical works before energisation of new lights can be done.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.