Cork Chamber has strongly welcomed the recent announcement by Minister Alan Kelly TD, to appoint a statutory committee to review the Cork City boundary and examine whether the local authority structures should be merged.

Cork Chamber believes that a unitary authority for the Cork region would accrue many potential benefits. In particular, significant savings could arise by eliminating the duplication of resources by combining many aspects of local authority activity which in turn could lead to a reduction in rates for business located in Cork. In addition, it is important that Cork speaks with one voice in order to maximise economic investment and having a single local authority for the entire County could be the catalyst for a more streamlined approach to economic development. Cork Chamber looks forward to engaging with the newly established statutory committee charged with reporting on their deliberations within the next nine months.