THERE will be no representative from the Bandon Kinsale Municipal District on the Local Community Safety Partnerships (LCSP), which are replacing the former Joint Policing Committee (JPC), writes Kieran O’Mahony.

The municipal district was one of eight vying for seven places on the forum and it lost out after names were picked out of a hat by County Mayor Cllr Mary Linehan Foley ahead of last week’s meeting of the local authority.

The anomaly was raised at last week’s meeting of Cork County Council with Cllr Cathal Rasmussen (Lab) saying it is unfair.

‘This should have been dealt with before with legislation and we should write to the Minister for Justice and ask that legislation be amended,’ said Cllr Rasmussen.

Cllr Gearoid Murphy (FF) said the cliché that they have been forgotten about by central administration has rung true.

‘Dublin City Council will have five LCSPs and we have just one for the entire county and Cork County would have been ideal to have more,’ he said.

Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) said it’s very disappointing while Cllr John Michael Foley (FG), who had been selected to represent Bandon Kinsale on the forum, said it’s too big an area and that they are meant to be community
and local.

Cllr Joe Carroll (FF) said it’s ‘ridiculous’, while Cllr Michael Hegarty (FG) said it isn’t the first time that they have seen anomalies like this.

Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) said it’s just ‘bizarre’ having seven representatives representing eight municipal districts.

Council chief executive Moira Murrell said a change of legislation would be required to change the numbers so it was outside the local authority’s remit.