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info@eastcorkjournal.ie


Thursday, 28th


September 2017


Cork County Council Vote To Keep Local Property Tax at Base Rate


Monday............................ 10AM to 2PM Tuesday ............................. 2PM to 5PM Wednesday ...................... 10AM to 2PM Thursday............................ 2PM to 5PM Friday .............................. 10AM to 2PM


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Pat Buckley TD will be available on Friday mornings.


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by SEAMUS WHELEHAN


Monday .........................10AM to 2PM Tuesday...........................2PM to 5PM Wednesday....................10AM to 2PM Thursday.........................2PM to 5PM Friday............................10AM to 2PM


Cork County Council-


lors have voted to main- tain the local property tax at its highest level for the second year in a row. On Monday 25 Sep-


tember, Councillors vot- ed by 35 to 9 to keep the level paid by home own- ers at the 2017 rate. A motion tabled by


Sinn Fein to reduce the tax by 15 % was rejected by the majority of Cllrs voting 31 against and 9 for the motion. Prior to the vote coun- provided


cillors were


with a report which out- lined the affect any cut would have on the Coun- cils ability to run services. Council


officials


warned even keeping the Local Property Tax rate


at baseline level


would mean the author- ity would be running at a loss of €3million in 2018. By reducing the local property tax rate by 15%


would mean the author- ity would remove over €6million from its coffers, they said. Director


of Finance


Loraine Lynch said the authority need to budget for increased spending next year, which includes the Landsdown Road/ Hadington Road agree- ment and pension in- creases. Leader of Fianna Fail in Cork County, Cllr Seamus McGrath


said


his party would like to see the base rate of tax remain. “We can clearly see


the demands the council face over the coming year that every single Euro of funding will be required to meet those demands.” “Any party or individu-


al who proposes a reduc- tion in local property tax I think they clearly have a duty to outline what services they propose to cut in any proposed re- duction.” Fine Gael leader, Cllr


Kevin Murphy said his party would also like to see the “status quo” maintained. He said “We have to be cognisant that any reduc- tion in the local property tax for the coming year would have a detrimental effect on our communi- ties.” Cllr Murphy


contin-


ued, it was important the County council contin- ues to maintain commu- nities to the best of


its


ability, by ensuring they are properly looked after financially and their de- mands are fairly well met. Sinn Fein Leader Des O’Grady said people are struggling to pay and not get anything back in re- turn. He said by reducing


the Local Property Tax by 15% it would be put- ting €6million back into the pockets of “crucified” communities. The Sinn Fein leader said he was aware the challenges faced by the


council but he couldn’t stand over the base rate of LPT when the local authority had €13million in reserves, providing a rates rebate of €3million to small business and is owed almost €3.5 million by Irish Water. Leader of the Inde- grouping in


pendent


Cork County, Cllr John Paul


O’Shea said his


colleagues would not be supporting the Sinn Fein motion. He said the


would not have


group it on


their conscious taking €6million out of a very demanding budget when Cllrs will be looking for an increase in funds and services in next month’s budget. The Independent Cllr


added by removing the €3million rates rebate for “struggling” businesses was a “vote to demise the economic activity in the County.”


Labour Councillor Cathal Rasmussen said


he also, could not sup- port a reduction in the base rate while services in the county are over stretched.


By maintaining the Local Property Tax at base level it’s expected the County Council will reinvest €1.1 million in the County’s villages and towns, split evenly across the county’s eight Munic- ipal Districts.


€500,000 is likely to be


added to the Town De- velopment Fund bring- ing the overall amount to €1.1million to be spent on the maintenance and enhancement


of ap-


proach roads to towns, verge cutting on strate- gically located roads and general upgrading and maintenance of public spaces and their pres- entation. A further €500,000 is


anticipated to be used to reinvigorate rural com- munities, giving each municipal district a fur- ther €62,500.


Charity Ride to Tour East Cork to Raise Money for Ronald McDonald House Charities


by ALAN SHEEHAN This year’s charity


Ride with Nico will tour 80km of East Cork to raise money for Ronald McDonald House Chari- ties Ireland in a little over two weeks, on Sunday, 15 October. The


charity cycle,


helmed by Irish profes- sional road bicycle racer Nicholas


‘Nico’ Roche,


will begin from the Ra- disson Blu Hotel, Little Island at 10am, follow- ing a kids’ cycle at 9am and the registration at 830am. Entry for adults’ cycle is priced at €20, while kids can cycle for free. The


route, which is


approximately 80km in length, will depart from Little Island and take its cyclists


through Gl-


anmire, Watergrasshill, Rathcormac, Ballincur-


Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie


rig, Lisgoold, Midleton, Cobh and Passage West before returning to Little Island. “All


the info is on


Facebook and people can follow the link there to register,” said John Shan- ahan, one of the organis- ers of the event. “People can come along on the day as well. It is open to all cyclists. It is not closed at all; even if you aren’t a member of a club, you can come and take part. There is a free children’s cycle too, and Nico will go out and cycle with them. He’s done very well in the world champi- onship this year. He is still in good condition in the word circle, and it’s great to have him on board.” Nico Roche, an ac- complished cyclist who was last year’s Irish Na- tional Road Race and TT Champion, has tak-


en part in similar charity cycles before such as last year’s, which was held in aid of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) and the Irish Guide dogs for the Blind. This year’s cycle


will


raise money for Ronald McDonald House Char- ities Ireland, a charity which provides accom- modation and support for those who have seri- ously ill children in hos- pital such as Crumlin Children’s Hospital. “To be honest, this


charity was chosen as a friend of mine who is in- volved in cycling, he’s son is up and down to Crum- lin all the time,” said Mr Shanahan, a member of Midleton Cycling and Triathlon Club. “He said the House has been in- credibly good to him and his family. I found out a


eastcorkjournal little about the charity


and they are really, re- ally struggling for funds there. Crumlin and the House are two separate charities. So we decided that


the cyclists will get


behind it this year and see if we can raise funds for it.”


Mr Shanahan, who was diagnosed with blindness more than ten years ago and gets by with around 2% vision, will cycle the route on a tandem bike. His pilot may be either Nico Ro- che, or Mr Shanahan’s long-time friend and pi- lot Gary Naff. Those who wish to


take part in the charity cycle, which is


organ-


ised through Ballymore Cycling Club, can do so though the events page on Facebook titled Ride with Nico, or register on the morning of the event.


@eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal


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