Local politicians express reservations about Denis Brosnan's proposals for Limerick
SEVERAL of the city's local representatives have expressed reservations about the report which would see Limerick City Council abolished and amalgamated with the County Council.
Mayor Maria Byrne said she was concerned by the fact city councillors could end up sharing a table with members from rural parts of the county with totally different priorities.
It was a fear reflected by Independent councillor John Gilligan. Meanwhile, Labour's Deputy Jan O'Sullivan has said the amalgamation of the city and county councils would make it harder for Limerick to effectively compete with other cities for foreign direct investment.
Elsewhere, Westbury-based Fianna Fail councillor Cathal Crowe – who could be forced into a battle with Labour's Pascal Fitzgerald for one seat on the potential new authority – said the news represented "a black day for Clare", and described the report as "arrogant".
Mayor Byrne said she would be happy to see services shared – and pointed out that engineers from Limerick City, Limerick County and Clare County all worked together on the Tunnel project.
But, she added: "I think the priorities of councillors in the city are different from those of councillors in Newcastle West or Abbeyfeale. I would have preferred to see one management structure and two local authorities."
Cllr Gilligan said he was sceptical as to whether the group's report was free from political intervention. Although the chairman of the group Denis Brosnan stressed "there was no influence from any political department. If there was, this would not have worked," Cllr Gilligan said the fact a report by Environment Minister John Gormley made similar recommendations had left him concerned.
"I think he (Mr Brosnan] sat down with civil servants, and the civil servants won," Cllr Gilligan said. But the former mayor still believes separate meetings comprising of urban and rural councillors is possible, because of Mr Brosnan's regular references to "the Greater Limerick area" and "rural Limerick."
"I don't think he has ruled out having two authorities, otherwise why would he make this distinction? The only rational and logical way you could do this is to have an authority for the greater Limerick area, and an authority for the County Council. Sticking 30 people in a Chamber together with widely divergent views is not going to work. It would be absolute bedlam," Cllr Gilligan added.
Cllr Crowe said: "As far as we have seen in this report, we are a few towns north of the Shannon. We have a far deeper identity than this, I can assure you. We find this proposal completely unacceptable, and it's something we will not stand for. It's a very bad day for the Clare people. I am very unhappy there has been very little interaction with the local representatives in the ground. This is a very arrogant report. This area of County Clare is sacrosanct."
Limerick East TD O'Sullivan - who was mayor in 1993/94 said: "I'm concerned about amalgamating the city and county, because it makes it very hard for us to compete with other cities. Other cities (in Ireland] will be able to focus primarily on their cities. But in this case, the powers that be will need to balance the needs of a big rural hinterland, as well as the city. We are competing with Galway, Waterford and Cork, whose councils can just focus on the city. If Limerick is placed in a different category to this, I would be very concerned."
Deputy O'Sullivan – who represents Westbury and Shannon Banks at Leinster House said she would have liked to have seen a plebiscite given to residents in the two Clare estates to decide if they wanted to be included in the recommendations outlined in the report.
Limerick County Council is to give an overall reaction to the contents of the report later this week.
Clare County Council is expected to give its reaction following a special meeting, which will take place this week. This area of County Clare is sacrosanct.”
Limerick East TD O’Sullivan - who was City Mayor in 1993/94 said: “I’m concerned about amalgamating the city and county, because it makes it very hard for us to compete with other cities. Other cities [in Ireland] will be able to focus primarily on their cities. But in this case, the powers that be will need to balance the needs of a big rural hinterland, as well as the city. We are competing with Galway, Waterford and Cork, whose councils can just focus on the city. If Limerick is placed in a different category to this, I would be very concerned.”
Deputy O’Sullivan - who represents Westbury and Shannon Banks at Leinster House said she would have liked to have seen a plebiscite given to residents in the two Clare estates to decide if they wanted to be included in the recommendations outlined in the report.
Limerick County Council are set to give an overall reaction to the contents of the report later this week. Clare County Council is expected to give its reaction following a special meeting, which will take place this week.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Limerick
Tuesday 22 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 13 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: South east
