Call for State reassurance over regeneration plan

AS doubts continue about the future of the €3 billion Limerick regeneration plan, city mayor Cllr Kevin Kiely yesterday called on the Government to reassure residents in run-down estates in the city of their commitment to the project.

The head of the Northside Regeneration Agency Paul Foley has returned to a senior executive post at Limerick City Council from where he was seconded. With his two-year term concluded, Mr Foley’s departure was seen as a major blow to the entire regeneration plan.

Well-placed sources said Mr Foley had become disillusioned at the way the project was moving. The master plan, launched last October, projected government funding of €1.6bn and a private sector contribution of €1.4bn. The massive plan proposed that 4,790 private houses and 2,450 social houses be provided in Southill, Moyross, Ballinacurragh Weston and St Mary’s Park.

Over 100 former council houses have already been demolished and families have been given alternative accommodation. It is believed senior personnel from the regeneration agency recently met senior civil servants from the departments of the environment, finance, justice and education, to plot a way ahead for the financially-troubled plan.

Minister for Housing Michael Finneran has given an allocation of just over €25m to the agency for the coming year. According to Mr Kiely, €15m has been given to the local authorities in Limerick city and county and Clare to provide housing to people who are being moved from the designated regeneration areas in the city.

Mr Kiely said: “The two regeneration agencies in the northside and southside of the city don’t have any money to engage in capital projects. All they have is enough for administrative and other such work.

“We need to see something happen to kick-start building work. We have huge numbers of people from the building industry out of work in Limerick and instead of paying them social welfare, they could be given work in regeneration construction.”

He insisted the Government must now come out and make its position clear as people in the affected areas are feeling they are being abandoned in the economic crisis.

“People want to see physical signs of the regeneration plan come to fruition and the two local ministers, Willie O’Dea and Peter Power, must get a commitment from the Government to reassure people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cllr Maurice Quinlivan said people in the affected areas now fear the regeneration plan is more about relocation of residents than anything else.

The Sinn Féin councillor said: “The people of these areas have a right to know whether the concepts set out in the northside and southside vision documents and the aims and objectives of the master plans are still part of the current thinking of the regeneration agencies and their political masters.”