General Election 2024: Boundary change an issue for candidates in Cork North Central

With the boundary changes which come into effect with the November 29 general election, Cork North Central will subsume Ballincollig, with a population of 20,494, from Cork North West, and three electoral divisions in Mallow, with a population of 14,408, from Cork East.

The constituency has gone from being predominantly urban to now having big swathes of rural areas to the north of the city.

The dominant issue in Cork North Central, unsurprisingly, is housing, but water quality has been a huge issue ever since the then Irish Water opened its new water treatment plant on the Lee Road in July, 2022.

Concerns

The cost of living, hospital waiting times, disability services, social disadvantage, and bus services are also big concerns.

The addition of an extra seat greatly complicates the art of predicting where preferences will likely go, but one thing it is safe to say, however, is that none of the current four TDs would thank you for saying their seat was safe.

In the 2020 election, Sinn Féin’s Thomas Gould topped the poll with 13,811 first preferences, nearly 27% of the vote. Fianna Fáil’s Pádraig O’Sullivan took the second seat, with almost 16% of first preferences. Fine Gael’s Colm Burke ended years of Dáil disappointment to finally take the third seat on the 14th count, while People Before Profit-Solidarity’s Mick Barry, doing well on Sinn Féin transfers, took the final seat.

Including the four incumbents, there are 21 candidates on the ballot in Cork North Central, and The Echo asked each of them what they considered the single most important issue in the constituency. Being politicians, almost none of them stuck to one point.

Given Sinn Féin’s recent slide in opinion polls, it remains to be seen whether the main opposition party can recover to the heady heights of the 2020 election. On all available evidence, however, Thomas Gould is still incredibly popular in his heartland, so it will be interesting to see if he again tops the poll.

Neglect

For him, the single biggest priority in Cork North Central is to change the government “and the only way to do that is to vote Sinn Féin”.

He cited “the persistent neglect by Government” as resulting in council homes boarded up for years on end, Southdoc Blackpool’s closure, persistent problems with water, an unreliable bus service, and the failure to deliver the Northern Ring Road.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have broken promise after promise to people, and they have failed to stand up for our wonderful communities,” Mr Gould said.

Pádraig O’Sullivan said housing was the key issue in this election, and it was something he dealt with weekly in his clinics.

“I fully accept that there are too many people that are homeless, struggling to pay rent, and there’s a large cohort that are struggling to get on the property ladder,” he said. “However, I think progress is being made.

“Over 49,007 homes commenced in the first nine months of 2024 — over double (up 105%) the 23,923 in these months of 2023. Over 500 first time buyers are getting the keys to their home every week now.”

Colm Burke, a minister of state in the outgoing Government, listed healthcare among his key priorities, specifically an elective hospital for Cork and primary care centres in Blarney, Glanmire, and Mayfield. 

He cited a need to accelerate the construction of new homes across Cork, a need to farmers, and to provide “more resources for law enforcement and a day centre for those affected by homelessness and addiction”.

Progress

“I’m running to continue building on the progress we’ve made and to drive positive change for Cork,” Mr Burke said.

Mick Barry cited water, the cost of living, childcare, as well as autism and disability services as big issues in the constituency, but said no issue was bigger than housing.

He said rents were way too high, house prices were unaffordable, and homelessness was “a shocking disgrace”, with far too much dereliction and far too many vacant houses.

“Take profiteering out of housing,” he said. “The State built Gurranabraher, Ballyphehane, etc, when the State was poor. Now that Ireland is a rich country, we need a State construction company and a really big programme to build social and affordable housing.”

Independent Ireland chairman Kenneth O’Flynn, son of former Fianna Fáil TD Noel O’Flynn, narrowly missed out on the final seat in 2020, and was re-elected to Cork City Council in June with the largest first preference vote, 3,134. Some in the constituency think that’s the sort of core vote that could result in a poll-topping performance.

Housing

Mr O’Flynn said housing was a key issue in the constituency, particularly with “younger generations who feel priced out of the market”. He also cited infrastructure issues such as the Mallow Relief Road and the Northern Ring Road, the cost of living, and “alarming health and safety concerns regarding our water supply”.

“Despite having three ministries in Cork, over €500m has yet to be allocated by central Government to address these urgent problems,” said Mr O’Flynn.

Green Party councillor Oliver Moran, who also came close to taking a seat last time out, believes this election is not a choice between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, but rather a choice of who is to go into coalition with them.

“Who do you want in coalition with them? Parties like the Greens, Labour, or Social Democrats, or ‘Fianna Fáil gene pool’ so-called Independents?” he asked.

“That’s a really important decision, much more important than Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Mixed in with those so-called Independents are climate change deniers, anti-Traveller and anti-migrant types, and people who want to roll back women’s rights, who want to undo the progress we’ve all fought so hard for.”

Vote management is, as in any election, an issue, with the three largest parties running multiple candidates. 

With the addition of Ballincollig to the constituency, some think it might have nearly the makings of a TD on its own, and with that in mind, the three big parties have added candidates based there.

Grumbling

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are each running three candidates, which has led to some internal grumbling. Sinn Féin has given Thomas Gould a running mate – Joe Lynch, Ballincollig councillor and former parliamentary assistant to both Gerry Adams and Mary Lou McDonald.

Fine Gael has paired Colm Buke with Ballincollig councillor Garret Kelleher and Glanmire teacher Imelda Daly. Fianna Fáil has recreated its 2020 ticket, with Pádraig O’Sullivan being ed by northside councillor and former lord mayor Tony Fitzgerald, and Ballincollig-based communications professional Sandra Murphy Kelleher.

Joe Lynch said Ballincollig still retained its sense of village community, even as part of the city. 

“One of the great tragedies of the housing crisis is that people I have grown up with — who have lived in Ballincollig and Carrigrohane their whole lives — cannot afford a home to buy or rent in the area,” he said, “so increasing the supply of affordable homes locally, across Cork North Central and across the State, is my number one priority.”

Sandra Murphy Kelleher said she believed the greatest challenge in the constituency was tackling the cost-of-living crisis, “which includes the urgent need for affordable housing, accessible healthcare, and reasonably priced childcare”.

Rising costs

“Rising costs are making it increasingly difficult for families, young people, and seniors to live comfortably and securely,” she said. “Addressing these issues is essential to building a community where every resident can thrive with stability, dignity, and the resources they need.”

Tony Fitzgerald said housing was the main issue of the election, and something he was hearing constantly on the doors. “The huge demand for affordable and social housing is extremely topical, as is housing maintenance, and it is something I would prioritise if elected,” he said. “Water quality is a serious public health issue, and it’s also something that is affecting essential household expenditure.”

Garret Kelleher said that alongside increased provision of housing, the delivery of key infrastructural projects was crucial to the future development of Cork North Central.

“Amongst the projects that I would push to commence in the coming Dáil term are the M20 Cork-Limerick motorway, the northern ring road, the northern distributor road, a new light rail system for Cork... and the construction of the regional elective surgical hospital in Glanmire,” he said.

Ballincollig-based barrister Ciarán McCarthy, running for the Social Democrats, listed services such as housing, healthcare and disability provision, as his top priorities. He said the Social Democrats would ban vulture funds from buying existing homes and would insist on a full minister for disability. “There is absolutely no point in talking about providing extra teachers, nurses, or guards if they cannot live in a society which s and accommodates them and their loved ones,” he added.

Lawyer Susan Doyle is also running for the Social Democrats.

Labour city councillor John Maher was returned in June’s local elections on the first count, with 2,005 first preferences. 

The constituency has a long Labour tradition, dating back to Gerry O’Sullivan and Kathleen Lynch, but that was overturned by Mick Barry in 2016. The party will be hoping it is finally out of jail after its coalition with Fine Gael in the 2011 austerity government, and will be eyeing Mr Barry as vulnerable.

Mallow

With the addition of Mallow to Cork North Central, Labour has opted for a two-candidate strategy, running Mallow county councillor Eoghan Kenny, who got 2,239 first preferences in June, alongside Mr Maher, hoping to absorb as much of outgoing Cork East TD Seán Sherlock’s old vote as possible. Next weekend will tell whether running two candidates was a mistake.

Mr Maher said that his experience on the doors was that housing was the issue of the campaign. “It’s just bananas that it has somehow become acceptable in Ireland for homes to cost €450,000, €480,000, €500,000.

“The Labour Party is very clear: we need the State to become more involved in building housing. I grew up in a council house, it’s still standing 60 years on. We built places like Gurrane when the State hadn’t a washer, now we have all the money and we have a housing crisis like never before,” he said.

“It needs to be public housing on public land, we need to give people affordable rents.”

Mr Kenny said he didn’t want to be a politician who protested for a living. “People deserve and expect their politicians to work positively for them to deliver for them and their communities. My energy will be devoted to delivery and not empty rhetoric.”

The youngest candidate in the constituency, Rachel Hurley Roche, is running as an Independent, but is d with Workers’ Party president Ted Tynan. Ms Hurley Roche said housing and water quality were the main issues of the campaign, and she was calling on central government to supply greater funding to local authorities to upgrade council homes, and for the abolition of Uisce Éireann.

“We have a huge amount of people living in sub-standard accommodation and they’re just not getting sufficient ,” she said.

“I’m also ing the water workers who want to stay within the local authority, because we can plainly see that privatisation of water has failed to deliver safe and clean water in Cork North Central.”

Disgrace

Aontú chairperson Finian Toomey, who is from Lower Killeens, described homelessness in Cork as “a downright disgrace” and predicted it would lead to major personal and societal issues in the years to come.

He said: “Young, bright, educated people that we need are leaving this country in their droves, and who can blame them? Not only can they not hope of owning a home in this country, they can’t even afford the sky-high rents.”

Independent candidate Martin Condon said he has campaigned for almost 20 years for drug policy reform “after first being criminalised at 18 for possession of €10 worth of soap bar hash”.

While describing housing as probably the constituency’s biggest priority, he cited community policing as another important issue.

“Our gardaí need to be more proactively patrolling our communities to deter crimes like theft, assault, and other more serious crimes against a person,” Mr Condon said.

Ballincollig-based businessman and nursing home owner Joseph Peters, who is running as an Independent, said a strong voice for the business community was needed.

Vat rate

“We’ve had 80 nursing homes close since 2019, and thousands of restaurants,” Mr Peters said. “Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael do a lot of talking when it’s action that is needed. They need to listen and bring the Vat rate down to 9%.”

Derek Blighe, a vocal anti-immigration campaigner, is running under the banner of Ireland First.

In June, he ran in both the local and European elections, and although he failed to be elected, he secured 25,071 first preferences in the European elections.

Mr Blighe claims thousands of deportations of immigrants are needed to rectify the ongoing lack of housing in Ireland.

Independent candidate John Donohoe is running on a slogan of “Let us reclaim God-given common sense”, and his priorities include sports, housing and education.