2016 Press Releases
Bovaird Report on Cork Local Government
Following the publication (2015) of the report of the Cork Local Government Review Group (CLGRG) chaired by Mr A. Smiddy, UCC President Dr Michael Murphy received approaches from several directions to comment on the report and that of the minority group within the CLGRG - the latter members being UCC connected. President Murphy considered that since there had been no international representative on the CLGRG (in contrast to the usual review processes at UCC on matters of less public interest), it would be appropriate to seek international advice from an acknowledged expert on local authority governance.
President Murphy thus sought advice from Prof. Tony Bovaird at the University of Birmingham (Governance International Institute), inviting his opinion of the process, outcomes and recommendations and any professional guidance he might wish to give. Prof Bovaird has worked as an expert on local government for the OECD, the UK Government and the EU, including chairing several associated initiatives.
The Bovaird Report was received and acknowledged by the University Management Team earlier this year. It is now considered timely to circulate the report publicly, as the matter of configuration of Cork’s local authorities has been revisited by the media.
The President considers that the Bovaird Report stands on its own merits, and represents the views solely of the author. The Bovaird Report sets out the merits of the process of the CLGRG Report, and goes on to add insightful analysis of the economic impacts and opportunities of the two solutions proposed.