Boundary move to leave 7,000 with no representative

HUGE areas of suburban Limerick with more than 7,000 residents will be left without any public representatives from March 1 when the city boundary is changed, it was claimed yesterday.

Michael Noonan called for the postponement of the boundary change until after next year’s local elections.

Otherwise, he said, residents in Caherdavin, Woodview and other parts of the north side of the city will be disenfranchised until the next local elections.

Mr Noonan said: “The Fitzgerald Report recommended such an extension to the boundary and there has been no political opposition to the proposal.

“Many people thought, however, that the boundary extension would take place from the next local elections in 2009, so that the people living in the area to be included in the city, could continue to be represented by those councillors they had elected in the last local election.”

The timing of the boundary extension order by Environment Minister John Gormley, he said, is bizarre.

Mr Noonan said: “The seven county councillors in the Bruff electoral area of which Caherdavin, Coonagh and Moyross form part, will no longer be able to represent those that voted for them in that area. As the area to be included will form part of ward 1 in the city council, the five councillors in that ward will in theory be the representatives for Caherdavin, Coonagh and a portion of Moyross, even though nobody in those areas voted for them.

“This is a travesty of democracy. Thousands of people are being disenfranchised for the next 15 months as nobody for whom they voted will or may represent them at City Hall.”

He said residents will have nobody to take up problems on planning, housing, traffic, anti-social behaviour and lack of facilities.

Mr Noonan said: “These residents will be without elected representation at a very crucial time in the development of the north city now that the work of the Regeneration Board has commenced.

“I would advise the minister to pull back and redraft this statutory order, so that the boundary extension will occur when a new city council, representative of all residents within the new city boundary, has been elected.”