€240k spend on Christmas in Limerick - featuring a no-show 'ghost train' - sparks backlash

A €240,000 bill for Limerick's Christmas celebrations — featuring a €5,000 "ghost train" that never arrived — has sparked anger and calls for more scrutiny.

Metropolitan district councillors have questioned whether Limerick's taxpayers are getting good value for money after they were presented with the figures this Monday.

In total, €240,574 was spent on 31 events during December - but the traditional turning on of the Christmas lights, a family day out in Limerick city centre, did not take place this year.

Instead, a Winter's Tale procession took place costing €27,676.

Elsewhere, 'animation' of the public realm in Limerick set council back €43,370.15, according to the data presented to members.

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Almost €10,000 was spent buying Christmas trees, and a further €15,674 to install them, with Cllr Sarah Kiely, Fine Gael, asking: "Are they gold leaf?"

Priomh Chomhairleoir Dan McSweeney said "there is nothing to show" for the trees which were shredded this Monday.
More than €30,448 was spent on activities around the Crescent at the top of O'Connell Street, which was closed to traffic on the final Sunday before Christmas.

There were initially plans to have the area fenced off for three Sundays in December. That plan was proposed after Mayor John Moran secured the closing off of the area to motorised vehicles for the month of August.

Lighting the Christmas trees located around the O'Connell Monument cost €9,420 in total, while traffic management around that area set council back €2,525.

Some €2,300 was given to Lumen Street Theatre for a show at the Crescent, while €2,000 was paid out for the stage light and sound of a concert by the 16 Tonnes of Jive group.

The band itself received €650.

A Santa's grotto in the Crescent cost €1,635 for a half day of activities - leading Cllr Kiely to say, tongue-in-cheek, that she would have played Santa "for half that amount".

Elsewhere in the city, €3,450 was spent on traffic management for Cruises Street.

A spokesperson for Limerick City and County Council said this spend was needed to grant external companies access to the thoroughfare.

"Cruises Street is pedestrianised with bollards preventing vehicular access," said the spokesperson.

Unlike in recent years, Toots the Train did not make an appearance in Limerick at Christmas this year.

Despite this, council paid €5,000, a sum it is trying to recover, the authority has confirmed.

Social Democrats councillor Elisa O'Donovan, who was given the figures after she tabled a question at this month's metropolitan meeting, said this was a "ghost train" and said the spend "is really alarming".

"Since I came back to Limerick in 2014, festivals and events have become progressively worse. It's so upsetting to see," she said.

Cllr McSweeney added: "I'm worried about value for money. We need to focus our Christmas offering in the city centre. The core business district. The whole intention of Christmas in Limerick is to bring footfall into our city centre. To spend in the region of €30,000 on The Crescent is unacceptable and does not represent good value for money."

City West councillor Daniel Butler contrasted the fact the Milk Market got €5,000 in spend from council, against what was put aside for the Crescent, describing it as "exasperating".

"My attitude is rather than spend €30,000 in the Crescent, I'd suspect you'd get better bang for your buck if you spend it in the Milk Market. The overall issue for me is if you look at the budget, the value for money doesn't appear to be there anywhere," he said.

"This is taxpayers' money. It's your money, it's my money".

He suggested many activities were planned "at the last minute".

Sinn Fein councillor Ursula Gavan agreed, saying: "I can't see the value here. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

She also questioned the spend of €5,000 "on a ghost train".

Metropolitan district leader Cllr Kieran O'Hanlon has started making moves to establish a cross-party committee of members to provide "oversight" of the spending on festivals and events.

"Of the public I have spoken to, many of them are not happy at the show we put on in Limerick. This happens every year. We sit down in January and give out about what didn't happen and what should have happened. But now I hope with this all-party committee, we will be able to have a positive input into it," he said.

Cllr Olivia O'Sullivan admitted she was upset to learn of where the spend went as the Pigtown festival she is involved in was shelved last year due to a lack of resources in terms of volunteers.

She said council had agreed a plan in 2023, but did not deliver on it, meaning last year's event did not proceed.

Former council official, Cllr Maria Donoghue pointed out the spend on Christmas in Limerick was less than in other Irish cities.

Newly co-opted councillor Padraigh Reale, who replaced the Dail-bound Conor Sheehan on the local authority admitted he took his family to Galway to enjoy the Tribesmen's city experience as he felt it was better than what was on offer in Limerick.

When asked why council did not have a Christmas lights turning on ceremony this year, a local authority spokesperson said a number of other events were planned.

"It was decided there would be no switch-on event for Christmas 2024 in order to focus on the successful running of the other events across the six weeks of the campaign."

However, they added council is "exploring all options and assessing the feasibility" of having a switching-on ceremony in Christmas 2025.