THEDYNAMICPOLITICSOFCORK: LOOKINGAHEAD

WRITES JAMES KEMMY | NEWS EDITOR

With approximately eighteen months or so until the next general election takes place, anticipating electoral outcomes in the Rebel county suggests a complex political picture Through a combination of national dynamics alongside specifically local ones, the country’s second biggest city and wider county will likely see interesting results In certain ways, Cork can act as a weather vane for wider political sentiment in Ireland, comprising both a major urban hub and vast rural areas with a diversity of political outlooks

The housing situation will undoubtedly be at the forefront of voters’ concerns at the ballot box, with little indication of a substantial improvement being made soon to one of Europe’s worst domestic crises According to the Residential Tenancies Board, the average rent in the city now stands at €1,413 Inaccessibility and increasing unaffordability for both renters and aspiring homeowners has mobilised major social action over the past period, with the issue likely to define Irish politics through the 2020s

Recent developments have manifestly inflamed the housing issue too, with the Government’s highly controversial decision to lift the eviction ban meeting fierce opposition. According to the RTB, this plan will trigger 500 notices of eviction in Cork from April 1st, with 1,000 people in immediate jeopardy of homelessness

Taking place last Saturday afternoon at 12:30, a demonstration opposing the eviction ban organised outside Parnell Place The Northside TD Mick Barry from People Before Profit-Solidarity was a leading voice at the demonstration

Moving onto party-political matters, Sinn Féin will clearly be looking to make gains in Cork, fielding more candidates and aiming to capitalise in areas where they either came close to winning in 2020 or attempting to return two TDs to the Dáil from the same constituency Something central to this effort will be a three-candidate strategy in certain areas, whereby Mary Lou McDonald’s party will attempt to gain votes from other parties and independents on the left with the ultimate hope of dampening the centre-right’s overall standing

However, the decision of former Sinn Féin MEP Liadh Ní Riada to step away from politics two weeks ago comes as a blow to the party, with much talk of the former Presidential candidate and high profile figure potentially running in Cork North West seeming promising for the party’s potential seat rise

Several individuals of national prominence will also contest and influence the coming election, the most interesting of which is arguably Holly Cairns, the newly instated leader of the Social Democrats Unexpectedly elected to the Dáil for the first time in 2020, the thirty-three year old from Bantry, who had previously been a county councillor for just one year, now appears to be generating a surge in support for her party’s ascendant brand of fresh, centre-left politics What effect this will have in the medium term remains to be seen but it may pose electoral danger for the Labour Party and Greens particularly

In Cork South Central meanwhile, Tánaiste Micheál Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath represent the same constituency With Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire achieving a stunning first-place victory there in 2020, it will be revealing to see if a second candidate from the party could achieve a major upset over one of these Cabinet TDs in the near future

Further issues and campaigns that have emerged as influential in Cork’s political landscape lately include those centred around refugee rights and climate change These are highly salient issues among an increasingly broad socio-demographic base, particularly the student population

Cork has not been immune to the rise in anti-immigrant and insular rhetoric visible nationwide in recent months. The wider populist right is undoubtedly gaining traction in Ireland, seen through isolated but striking incidents such as the verbal abuse levelled at staff recently over the presence of LGBTQ+ reading material in the City’s public library Just last week a graffiti display in Farranferris in the north side of the city depicted shocking racially-driven slurs which Gardaí are now investigating Countering such developments, an anti-racist demonstration took place last weekend on Grand Parade Organised by the group ‘Cork Says No to Racism’ on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a United Nations initiative, the rally gathered at 2pm on Saturday to promote the values of diversity and social inclusion

Support for climate action is on the rise too, particularly among younger voters Green Party MEP Grace O’Sullivan has recently opened a new office on Washington Street and City Councillor Lorna Bogue of An Rabharta Glas has maintained an active eco-socialist presence in local government As the climate issue grows in prominence, manifesting in a Cork context primarily through devastating flood damage, the environmental agenda will influence politics inevitably in the county and beyond

On the whole, Cork’s political scene at the moment suggests any outcome is up for grabs The next year and a half will be electorally instructive, with the youth vote likely playing a key role in shifts from the status quo