Kieran’s Comments on the GAA proposal, Cork City Council Meeting, 14 June 2010

It is indeed an interesting conundrum that the Council finds itself in. I stood up at the last Council meeting and commented on how the docklands plan is a fantastic vision. Docklands has brought City Council, Cork Citizens, Cork businesses to a new level of thinking of where Cork needs to go.

That vision now is at the point of engaging with reality, however, that reality is very different from the vision. The principal investor wound up in early 2009 with debts of E1.3 million. Their proposed development was across 4,984 hectares of the so called Marina Precinct in the Docklands. That company is now in NAMA; now unless there is another developer out there willing to take up the mantle – is the Marina precinct dead? Is the docklands dead?

I honesty feel that when the economy picks up, the docklands plan will be re-visited, maybe in 15-20 years time. I ‘m also conscious of the need to consider the 26,836 people looking for employment in Cork.

I’m offering my support to the Planning Strategic Policy Committee proposal to allow negotiations to continue on how the GAA proposal would be facilitated. I am doing this on the grounds that ultimately the docklands proposal will be scaled back I feel in years to come and a revised docklands will emerge.