Booming Cork town needs more amenities and more Guards, councillors say

By Peter McCarthy, Corkman

Carrigaline’s recreational infrastructure as well as its Garda numbers are lagging behind as County Cork’s biggest town continues to grow, with hundreds more homes recently given the green-light.

Local councillors at this week’s meeting of Carrigaline Municipal District (MD) called for an increased Garda presence to deal with anti-social behaviour in the town’s community park as well as a recognition that the town is suffering significant infrastructural pressures, particularly around recreational and amenity spaces.

Cllr Una McCarthy put forward a motion calling on the MD to write to the Garda Chief Superintendent requesting an increased presence, including bicycle patrols, in the park. “There have been a number of people reaching out to me recently to report antisocial behaviour in the Carrigaline park, including eggs being thrown at cars, which obviously is very dangerous and could cause an accident,” she said.

The motion was seconded by Cllr Jack White who said he recently got “a heartbreaking call from a dad of three young boys who all used the skate park all the time. And he said the net effect of all this anti-social behaviour is that it's driving people away from using the skate park and the playground.”

“There’s concern for people's safety and their well-being there, there's concerns for just the general feel of what is a lovely asset and amenity and of course there’s the ongoing issue of the bins being burned out as well, which is horrendous.”

Cllr Patrick Donovan said he was in the park at the weekend and “it didn't feel like the most safe place in Carrigaline at that hour of the day, which is sad. The place was choc-a-block with teenagers in black hoodies in what should be an area for people to sit down and have a cup of coffee or sit down with their kids.”

The MD agreed to send a letter to the Garda Chief Superintendent. In a separate motion, Cllr White raised the pressure on Carrigaline’s recreational amenities as “grant after grant of planning permission for houses keep on coming.”

“We have clubs that are bursting at the seams in terms of capacity who want to continue growing and providing infrastructure and space, particularly for kids but adults as well, clubs that are very well capitalised and ambitious to grow,” but public infrastructure plans are failing to keep pace with that growth, he said.

“I really hope that this is taken into consideration by the planners as they consider zoning and planning applications over the next couple of years because I think if the horse doesn't go before the cart in terms of infrastructure we're all going to be in trouble from a society point of view locally,” the Fine Gael councillor said.

Supporting the motion, Cllr McCarthy said that “we are getting almost 500 new homes granted [planning permission] and coming onstream shortly so it's very important that we have the amenities, the facilities and the open spaces in order to keep pace with the population growth.”

The 2022 Census found Carrigaline to be the largest town in the county with a population of over 18,000. A popular commuter town for Cork city, it continues to grow with plans for another 362 homes recently given the go-ahead by An Coimisiún Pleanála.