Concern raised as plan emerges to sell off central portion of Limerick's Opera Square development

A FINE Gael councillor has raised concerns around the current structure of Limerick Twenty Thirty (LTT) after plans emerged to sell the central portion of the €200m Opera Square development.

Cllr McSweeney sounded the alarm at a monthly metropolitan district meeting, where members were asked to note the planned sale of the 14-storey tower, which will form the heart of the Opera Square development to the Office of Public Works (OPW).

The OPW will pay €1.1m for this, as well as the development costs incurred to date by Limerick City and County Council.

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It will then be the OPW which builds the complex, which will be home to the Revenue Commissioners.

LTT is a designated activity company which operates at arm’s length from council, and is charged with developing key sites in the city centre including the Opera Square at Rutland Street.

Up until the last local election, a number of councillors had sat on the board of the company in order to provide oversight.

But a row broke out last summer when Mayor John Moran said in line with “best corporate practice”, council members would have to apply to sit on the board, and he would decide the positions.

Twelve months on, City West councillor Dan McSweeney says no councillors have yet been appointed onto the LTT board.

He says this raises “serious concerns” and pointed to a guidance document issued from Government which sets out council members should be on boards like LTT in order to provide oversight.

“At present, LTT DAC is only operating with four directors,” he said, adding that it raises some serious concerns “that you are not complying with the code of corporate governance for local authorities.”

LTT referred a request for a response on Cllr McSweeney’s comments to council.

The local authority did not comment.