‘Reviving city’s competitiveness’ among challenges facing region

ONE of the biggest challenges facing business in the mid-west is reviving the flagging competitiveness of Limerick city centre. A number of major developments including the Opera Centre are on hold due to the recession.

Kieran Mac Sweeney, who yesterday took up office as president of Limerick Chamber of Commerce, said: “Vibrant and attractive cities act as drivers for investment and are catalysts for economic growth throughout the region. This will be one of our key priorities for the year and we have been busy engaging with city traders, the city council and key stakeholders in the city to come up with short and medium term measures that focus specifically on reviving the city centre. Our primary focus is on the short term measures around litter, parking, rates and security but we are also focusing on ways to bring fresh investment into the city.”

In addition to bringing in big name retailers to increase, business, he said the city centre needs to encourage more grass roots, bottom up, artistic/creative kinds of development as the way forward.