122 candidates competing for 55 seats
With 122 candidates seeking election to 55 seats, Cork County Council has one of the largest local election fields in the country.
The main issues being raised by voters include the need for more social and affordable housing and the continued lack of investment in roads. The county, which has 12,000km of roads, has for years been consistently near the bottom of what is allocated to local authorities per kilometre. The roads budget has also been eaten away by the cost of repairing damage caused by flooding related to Storm Babet.
Fianna Fáil, which had 17 councillors elected in 2019, has held the balance of power here since 2019 after striking a deal with some of the 15 Independents elected. For several years Fine Gael held the majority on the council, sometimes with the support of Independent councillors, and it goes into this election as the largest party with 19 seats.
Sinn Féin has no sitting councillor seeking re-election. The last of its councillors shifted their allegiance to become Independents and neither of them is running this time. The Green Party is in a similar position. It had two sitting councillors. One is not seeking re-election and the other has jumped ship to the Social Democrats. Labour has two councillors who are both seeking to be returned.
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