Limerick councillor reveals mayor has issued no monthly reports since March

John Moran responds saying 'insufficient resources and funding have been put, in my opinion, into telling the good story of the transformation which is taking place in Limerick'

In response, John Moran issued a five-page long letter thanking him for his 'recent emails about the mayoral report'. Picture: Manon Gilbart

A councillor has called out the Limerick mayor for not filing a monthly report he is legally required to provide to the council.

Fine Gael councillor Dan McSweeney sent emails expressing concerns that John Moran has not filed a mayoral report to councillors since March 2026.

Both the mayor and the director general of the council, Dr Pat Daly, are required by local government legislation to provide councillors with monthly reports, which includes performance details of their respective executive functions. 

Since the corporate plan was passed in February 2026, both have been sending separate reports.

In the correspondence seen by the Irish Examiner, Mr McSweeney cited Section 136 of the 2001 Local Government Act, which says a monthly management report should be provided to elected members.

“Failure to provide these management reports is a clear failure to meet the legal requirements placed on the executive and is also preventing the elected members from performing our legal duties. This could give rise to serious governance concerns for Limerick City and County Council,” Mr McSweeney wrote.

Mr McSweeney requested that if the issues that “seem to have appeared between the division of functions could not be addressed as a matter of urgency”, that they revert back to the old format.

Mr McSweeney indicated his first correspondence regarding the matter was sent on July 15, and that he is once again requesting a “clear reason for such delays in dealing with this matter”.

In response, John Moran issued a five-page long letter thanking him for his “recent emails about the mayoral report”.

“I want to be clear that l, more than anyone, want accurate and complete reports issued and issued on time. Delaying reports benefits no one,” Mr Moran wrote. 

I would be a rather unusual politician if I did not want to take all opportunities to highlight the great work that is being done and the advancements we are making in Limerick.

“But as you will be aware (as you yourself first criticised my decision to do exactly that some weeks ago) insufficient resources and funding have been put, in my opinion, into telling the good story of the transformation which is taking place in Limerick especially with a view to creating a new dynamic to attract new investment into our housing pipeline, like that from the people whose representative I met this last week in New York,” he added.

Mr Moran went on to say Mr McSweeney would be “the first to criticise me if I were not to take the time to make sure the report I issue is as complete and informative as it can reasonably be”.

“Not reviewing drafts and publishing them just to meet deadlines just for the sake of it, even if the report is not what it could and should be, is not a fair strategy to you and our other colleagues,” he wrote.

Mr Moran said it is important that “people are aware that acknowledging projects are offtrack is not a weakness but could be a clear sign of the need for resource reallocation or the need for a new approach to get the priority back on track”. 

Mr Moran went on to detail “ongoing difficulties” and a “number of issues” which are still being resolved by officials.