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Cllr Frank O’Flynn who was recently elected chairman of the northern area committee of Cork County Council. Photo: Ellen Lynch

Council veteran Frank O'Flynn is bringing a 'to do' list with him to the chair of the northern area committee of Cork County Council. The recently elected chairman of the committee which encompasses the Fermoy, Mallow and Kanturk areas, says there's much to be done in this the final year of the committee before it's to be abolished and a new municipal authority established as part of local government reform.

Representing an area with an electorate of some 110,000 people, as large as Limerick city and county combined, Cllr O'Flynn says he'd like to see progress made on a number of pertinent issues.

Top of his list is housing. He's concerned at the large number of people on the county council's housing list in the area while repairs to vacant houses are taking a long time to be done because funding is slow to come through.

"I'd like to see these houses refurbished and turned around far quicker to get people off the housing list," he said.

He wants a planned programme of works drawn up to ensure it's done in a timely manner. He also said the maximum amount of grant aid should go towards bringing houses of elderly tenants up to standard, including the fitting of new bathrooms, showers, windows and doors and insulation.

"It's about improving the quality of life for those residents," he stressed.

He also wants to see existing tenants have their houses retrofitted to provide upgraded heating systems, replacement doors and windows and insulation.

"We have very good tenants who keep their homes well. They need to have them brought up to date," he said.

Road repairs and resurfacing works should be prioritised with the necessary funding allocated to do the work, he said. He expressed his disappointment at the recent withdrawal of funding for the Mallow relief road. He wants to see work on the Ballaghderg bridge in Mitchelstown advanced during his term.

"It's a much needed bridge. We've agreed the plans, I'd like to see the work started now," he commented.

A programme of works should also be drawn up to meet present and future needs for water supply, he believes.

"Water is a problem in Kildorrery and Ballyhooly," he pointed out. "I look forward to working with the people of north Cork especially in the Fermoy Electoral Area. I will always strive to meet their needs," he said.

Looking to the future, Cllr O'Flynn signalled his intention to put himself forward for the new area authority when the elections come round.

"The changes will be challenging, there'll be a much bigger area to cover," he said of the redrawn boundaries.

He expressed the hope that in the changeover the control of necessary services will remain at local level.

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