Cork County Council approves €538m budget with 7.25% rates rise

Cork County Council has approved a record €538 million budget for the coming year, incorporating a 7.25 % increase in commercial rates.

The executive had originally sought an 8 % rise to close a €12 million gap between income and expenditure. At the first meeting earlier in the week, Mayor Bernard Moynihan, a Fianna Fáil councillor, put forward a 7.5 % increase, which was rejected.

Fine Gael councillors were expected to table a counter‑proposal, but council leader Michael Hegarty declined, urging Fianna Fáil and the Independents to lead. The debate led to three adjournments and intense negotiations.

Chief executive Moira Murrell explained that inflation and a significant rise in staff wages, agreed in public‑sector pay talks, required the rates increase to fund services, new projects and a growing population. She warned that without the rise, many projects would be at risk.

After Moynihan revised his proposal to a 7.25 % increase, the motion passed by 27 votes to seven, with 20 abstentions, most from Fine Gael members. Social Democrats councillor Ann Bambury noted a 5 % rise would create a €4 million deficit.

The budget also includes scaled waiver supports for small and medium‑sized enterprises, targeting pubs, restaurants and coffee shops, and an extra €200,000 annually for each of the county’s eight municipal districts. The 7.25 % rate rise applies only for the next year and will not extend to 2028 or 2029 pending a Government review of rates valuation.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: A G / Pexels.