Cork County councillors have approved a budget of €538m for 2027, a €12m increase on last year, following two days of meetings and warnings of dissolution.

Councillors rejected a similar budget on Monday that called for an 8% rise in commercial rates. A counterproposal was tabled by Fianna Fáil, which would have seen a 7.5% increase among other amendments, but this was also rejected.

Elected members met this morning (Wednesday) to enter budget discussions for the second time, where a rate increase of 7.25% was eventually passed. Fine Gael did not produce a counterproposal and as party leader in the council, Cllr Michael Hegarty (FG) said they were not required to present an alternative, but added that if another proposal was put forward, it would be considered.

Fianna Fáil councillors were not pleased with this, saying the reason the meeting was set for Wednesday was to provide an opportunity for a counterproposal to be made. CEO Moira Murrell said they had the same needs, but the council’s ability to respond to those needs would be affected if the budget was reduced. She added that it was her role to protect the financial standing of the local authority.

Ms Murrell said for every .5% they went below the originally proposed 8% increase, €700,000 would be lost from the budget. She warned that could result in 40% less street cleaning and a reduction in other core services.

Following an adjournment, Cork County Mayor Cllr Bernard Moynihan (FF) proposed a rate increase of 7.25%, with an increased waiver threshold of €8,000 that would provide relief to 94% of pubs, restaurants and cafés. He said it would see the protection of core services, adding that the council executive had also made a strong commitment to tackle dereliction in the county.

Councillors in favour of the amendment explained that, if passed, this increase would be the only change until 2029 because of the rates re-evaluation by the National Valuation Office. The alternative proposal was put to the councillors and passed on a vote of 27 for and 7 against, with 20 members abstaining. Fine Gael and Social Democrat councillors abstained, having voted against the Fianna Fáil proposal on Monday.

To balance the budget, the municipal district fund was reduced from the originally proposed €250,000 per district, to €200,000, with allowances also made across the allocated funds for graveyard upkeep, fleet maintenance, civic amenity sites and energy efficient retrofitting schemes.

Ms Murrell explained councillors could deploy the fund in their locality, adding that with co-funding schemes, the money could benefit developments such as increased car parking in Bandon, the redesign of Bantry town, and additional development during works on the Old Steam Mill in Skibbereen.