THE Government was warned yesterday the mid-west was dying on its feet and action was urgently needed to turn around the economic fortunes of its Limerick city hub.
A Government-commissioned report to set out a new roadmap for the governance of the region proposes one single council to administer Limerick city and county and an extension of Limerick city into parts of Clare and Co Limerick.
Former Kerry Group supremo Denis Brosnan, who headed up the Limerick Local Government Committee Report group, spelt out the urgent need for action to turn around the fortunes of the mid-west, a region he said which was now in rapid decline
He said the report was setting out to try and turn the region into one which would grow again.
In a blunt assessment, Mr Brosnan said: "Limerick is dying. Shannon is dying. The region is dying."
The report was submitted to the Minister for Environment, John Gormley on Wednesday.
The Brosnan report recommends that one council, to be known as the Limerick City and County Council, be formed with a single administration.
Mr Brosnan said €20 million per year could be saved by the merging of staffing and administrative structures of Limerick City and County Councils and the elimination of duplication.
These savings, according to the report, could be used to support the business environment of the city centre.
An extension of the city boundary into the suburbs of the city, in Co Clare and Co Limerick would create an administrative area serving 187,000 making Limerick the third biggest city in the country.
Speaking at the launch of the report yesterday, Mr Brosnan said local government, as it stands in the Limerick region, cannot continue as it had failed Limerick city, Limerick county and the region.
He said the Limerick region needed a new authority with a new mandate which included social inclusion and not just looking after roads and sewerage.
Mr Brosnan stressed the importance of the revitalisation of Limerick City to drive industry, tourism and investment in the region.
"If we cannot achieve that the whole region will suffer. Looking out at the city, it looks wonderful, but it is dead. It is not the governance of Limerick that is at stake, it is the development of this region. It was a great region 10, 20, 30 years ago. It is a region in rapid decline," he said.
Mr Brosnan said the Government would implement their proposals if the will of the people wants it to do so.
"I think the Government and the department will move very quickly. From my tic-tacing with the department (of the Environment) I think the department will move very quickly," he said.
But he warned if the politicians start diluting their proposals, they will not be the ones who will suffer, but the people who will continue to lose their jobs. Mr Brosnan said Limerick had over the years a reputation in Dublin of whingeing.
"But I have seen a significant change in Limerick over the past 12 months of people looking to the old concept of we had better start looking after ourselves."
Mr Brosnan added it was illogical to have city suburbs of Shannon Banks and Westbury in Clare.
The proposed boundary extension would also take in part of the University of Limerick campus on the Clare side of the Shannon.
Last night Mr Gormley said: "Greater local government coherence in Limerick is necessary for many reasons, including to help support regional development, improve the business environment and to play its role in the major regeneration efforts currently underway."
LIMERICK REACTION: Puzzlement and pleasure greet extension plans
By Jimmy Woulfe
Fine Gael Finance Spokesman Michael Noonan said he was "puzzled" at the proposal to extend the Limerick city boundary into Co Limerick.
He said: "It is difficult to understand. It seems on the one hand you have one local authority for the city and county and, at the same time, the report recommends extending the city boundary into the county. What is the point of extending the city boundary, if you only have the one authority and this requires further explanation. If there is an amalgamation of the two Limerick councils, why should you have a boundary extension."
Willie O’Dea TD said local people in parts of Clare which are proposed to be taken into Limerick city should be consulted and, if necessary, a local plebiscite held.
He said: "It is a very hot issue and i think the views of the people should be sought. With a single council, I think resources might be focused on populated areas to the detriment of rural areas."
Mayor of Limerick Maria Byrne said she was disappointed the report was recommending the setting up of one council to administer the city and the county. "I would like to see Limerick city and county kept separate as there are different issues facing both. We have to wait for the Government to put its stamp of approval. I would have preferred to see a sharing of services as there are shared issues in the county and the city."
Cllr John Sheahan said: "From a Limerick County Council point of view it is very much on board with the submissions we made. I agree with Denis Brosnan: We move to regional politics."
City Councillor John Gilligan said: "As far as I can see the city has got its city boundary extension, even if they call it something else. . . as Limerick city has now got a huge extension of its boundary. I am very pleased."
CLARE REACTION: ‘A black day for Clare’, but fight not over yet
By Gordon Deegan
A RECOMMENDATION by a Government-appointed committee that parts of south-east Clare should be governed by a Limerick-based authority was yesterday described as "a black day for Clare".
Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF), who sits in south-east Clare, said: "The fight to prevent the extension going ahead isn’t over yet. The proposal solves nothing, doesn’t create one job and only serves to upset people in Clare. People are up in arms over this."
The report by the Limerick Local Government Committee (LLGC) proposes that areas on the northside of Limerick city over the Clare border, Westbury and Shannon Banks, should be governed by the new unitary authority that is to administer Limerick city and county.
The area contains an estimated 3,000 people and last night, Clare County Council confirmed that it is to convene a special meeting to be held on the issue next week where the report will be discussed.
The council declined to comment on the report’s recommendations, pending the outcome of next week’s meeting.
In its 20-page submission to the LLGC, the council stated there was no justification whatsoever for extending the Limerick city boundary into Co Clare.
At the meeting yesterday in Limerick where the report was launched, Mr Crowe said: "This is my worst day politically and I am annoyed and upset at what the committee has recommended, but it is only a proposal and I believe the recommendations in relation to Clare flies in the face of logic and Government policy."
Cllr Paschal Fitzgerald (Lab) said that the report’s recommendations "makes it a sad day for Co Clare". He said: "People are shocked. I believe that we had a very strong case."
However, the Green party’s sole representative on Clare County Council, Cllr Brian Meaney, said, "I have always said I would support any recommendations that the independent committee made."
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, September 03, 2010
