Staying on target

The man leading the regeneration of Limerick’s problem areas has defended the work but warns the progress made must not be lost, writes Stephen Rogers

It was never realistic, nor promised, that long-festering problems could be resolved within five years

The man tasked with leading the regeneration of Limerick’s most run-down estates has admitted there is a perception some parts of those estates have actually deteriorated even further.

However, as the five-year term of its agencies is due to end, John Fitzgerald, chairman of Limerick regeneration, defended the ambitious targets set out for the area. He said that if funding is maintained over the next 10 years, public housing targets there will be achieved.

Mr Fitzgerald will make his final report today on the regeneration project. A new office is to be formed in the local authority to take over the process.

His report will reflect the “many difficulties and challenges” facing the communities in Moyross, Ballinacurra Weston, Southill, and St Mary’s Park.

“Within this context, it was never realistic, nor ever promised, that all these long-festering problems could be resolved in a timeframe of five years,” he said. “The problems in these estates were problems arising from long-term neglect. They were deep-rooted, systemic, and long-standing.”

He said in 2007, there were three issues to be addressed in these areas:

* The threat from serious criminal activity by “a few families”;

* The urgent need to address social and educational disadvantage;

* The need for economic and infrastructural regeneration.

Mr Fitzgerald said the serious criminal activity in the estates has been “significantly ameliorated” thanks to extra policing and the close relationship between the community, gardaí, the regeneration agencies and the city council. He said the implementation of CCTV by the agencies throughout the four areas, the greater involvement of communities, including a greater confidence in reporting crime, and the provision of additional sporting and leisure activities for young people had also been significant.

He did, however, state that “an unacceptable level of lower-level criminality and anti-social behaviour” persists in some areas.

To achieve social change, he said €16m or half of the total allocated to agencies over the last five years had been spent on social and community related projects, including family support services, community centres, community cafes, new sports facilities, new community creche and cultural and recreational resources.

Mr Fitzgerald said there had been a lot of focus in the media on the physical regeneration of the estates. His own report in 2007 drew attention to what he described as the appalling living conditions on the estates, the generally poor quality of housing stock and the generally run-down appearance of these areas.

But he said it was never possible, nor desirable, that houses could be purchased, knocked down, and rebuilt all within the five-year timeframe of the regeneration agencies.

“There clearly was a need to tackle social problems and criminality first, and then allow for some stability to be restored before starting a rebuild,” he said. “This process was further complicated by the unforeseeable economic downturn which, for example, effectively put paid to the aspiration to engage private investors as part of the plan to create a better public/private mix on the estates.”

He said originally it was hoped that the exchequer allocation would be in the region of €75m per year for five years but that in the end, only €116m was allocated for the whole period from 2007-2011, with 75% of that going directly to the Limerick local authorities and not to the agencies.

“Undoubtedly, the lack of a co-ordinated, coherent strategy and a great deal of uncertainty over the last five years, has hindered communication to residents and led to some disappointment of expectations,” he said. “As a consequence of the very significant movement of residents over the last few years out of the estates, there is a perception that some parts of these estates have actually deteriorated. This is something that needs to be addressed in the proposed integration of a regeneration office within the new unitary local authority.”

He did say, though, that significant further funds (approx €27m) have been committed this year and in the coming few years for regeneration.

“If maintained over 10 years, this funding will allow for the public elements of the housing regeneration to be completed,” he said.

In conclusion, Mr Fitzgerald said people should not lose sight of the significant steps forward that have been made in the past five years.

“In my view, the dynamic has fundamentally altered, and where the balance of power previously lay with the criminal gangs and their associates, now it properly rests with the State and the communities,” he said. “But in the context of a problem that has endured for many decades, five years is still a relatively short time. It is right that there be impatience to make faster progress, however, the process is still very fragile. There is still a grave risk that, unless the momentum is maintained on all strands of regeneration, that progress made could be lost.

“Nobody wants a return to the situation that obtained as described in my 2007 report. This means that there must be unrelenting focus and energy and resourcing to maintain momentum.”