COUNCILLORS from Cork County Council’s West Cork Municipal District voted unanimously to reject the 2025 draft budgetary plan for the district at a special meeting in Dunmanway.
BY DAVID FORSYTHE
Councillors were told that the proposed overall budget for 2025 of €28,017,558 represented a 12.9% increase year-on-year from the 2024 budget of €24,235,639.
The biggest single allocation under the draft budget was for roads, accounting for more than €22m in funding, with most funding for these roads coming from central government and Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Under the draft plan, funding for national roads is set to increase to €139,000 and for regional roads the proposed budget was €9,787,710 compared to €5,529,333 allocated in 2024.
For local roads the draft budget proposed total funding of €12,303,711 a reduction from the 2024 total of €13,753,556. Other items included €302,742 for the operation of the Dursey cable car, €61,235 for road safety promotion and €270,264 for car parking, regulation, and enforcement.
Funding for public conveniences is set to increase from €444,841 to €539,204 and tourism development funding is set to increase from €117,599 to €226,008.
Litter management funding increased from €49,918 to €69,846 and the street cleaning budget was also increased from €807,447 to €855,686. Funding for burial ground maintenance, however, saw a reduction from €402,198 to €319,123.
Under the recreation and amenity heading, funding for Dunmanway Swimming Pool increased from €1,008,684 to €1,182,868 while the allocation for outdoor leisure which includes parks, playgrounds, walkways, and beaches was reduced from €635,883 to €509,569. Funding for lifeguards and lifesaving devices aslso fell, being set at €247,019 – a decrease from 2024’s total of €386,170.
Funding for the Skibbereen Heritage Centre and the Air India Memorial which has its 40th anniversary in 2025 increased from €152,125 to €180,602. Funding for piers and harbours was proposed at €633,532 an increase from the 2024 allocation of €611,777 and coastal protection also saw an increase from €720,645 to €753,113.
The allocation that covers development on the islands and the running of Skibbereen Town Hall increased from €72,828 to €80,562. Meeting chair Patrick Gerard Murphy (FF)’s recommendation that councillors reject the draft budget was agreed.
