PLANS need to be put in place to resolve parking and access issues in Baltimore before the summer rolls around, according to Fianna Fáil Cllr Joe Carroll.

Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the West Cork Municipal District he said: ‘This is going on year after year. I was in Baltimore recently and people want to see work done before the summer comes.’

He suggested that additional parking could easily be provided at the area known as Bull Point, a parcel of land that fell through a series of transfers into the ownership of Fáilte Ireland, but deserves to be used to serve the needs of the local community.

Every year, Cllr Carroll said parking in the village, which is one of the busiest tourism destinations in the country, is filled to capacity.

He said people go to enjoy the village itself, dine out locally, go whale watching, as well as visit Cape Clear and Sherkin islands, so parking becomes rarer than hen’s teeth.

‘We need to start working immediately if additional parking is to be provided,’ he said.

He suggested that ‘a proper report’ needs to be completed now, one that takes into account the lack of lighting on the way into the village, and it should be implemented in the second quarter of 2026.

Cllr Carroll claimed the village is being ‘neglected’ and that given the work demands of the local Tidy Towns committee, he suggested that they deserve additional funding.

As for the need to widen the last two or three miles into the village, Cllr Carroll said: ‘The roads are not suitable because they are so narrow and buses are being jammed into ditches.’

He claimed the narrowness of the roadway, the lack of footpaths, and poor lighting, makes it unsafe for people walking into the village.

‘I am demanding that we will have the report at our next meeting,’ said Cllr Carroll, while Fine Gael’s Cllr Brendan McCarthy agreed that the road leading into Baltimore is not satisfactory, claiming: ‘It is barely wider than a footpath.’