Former finance boss 'seriously considering' bid to become Limerick's first directly elected mayor

A FORMER secretary general at the Department of Finance has said he is "seriously considering" a bid to become Limerick's first directly elected mayor.

Limerick is expected to go to the polls to elect an executive mayor at the same time as the local and European elections this June.

Only one candidate has so far confirmed they will be running in the maiden contest - Brian Leddin of the Green Party.

However, as revealed by Limerick Live last week, city businesswoman Helen O'Donnell has also said she is weighing up a bid for the office.

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Now, John Moran has suggested he could run as an Independent.

"Limerick is the first county in Ireland to have a directly elected executive mayor, and we should seize the opportunity and make the absolute best of it," he said, "To achieve this our mayor should have Limerick as his or her only priority, and not be constantly thinking about political party matters."

The 57-year-old lives in the city, and grew up in Mungret, while having deep family roots in Athea.

He served as secretary general of the Department of Finance alongside Limerick's former Finance Minister Michael Noonan, as the country went through the toughest recession in a generation.

He was a board member of the European Investment Bank, the world’s largest multinational policy bank, and was one of the original campaigners for Limerick to have a directly elected mayor.

He currently holds a number of other business roles, including being a board member of Shannon Airport Group, chair of Grid Finance, director of Mannok, a member of the advisory board of Takumi Precision Engineering and chair of the Limerick Tunnel.

He's chairman of the Hunt Museum, and a former chairman of the Land Development Agency.

Mr Moran says he will come to a decision on whether he will be a candidate in the election in the week's ahead.

He has expressed concern, saying he believes the legislation which underpins the new role has been further delayed, and could take a number of weeks before being passed by the Senate.

"This is simply unacceptable. We have already waited five years and it puts the reform at risk of an early snap election. It is frustrating for everyone right across the county - and no doubt humiliating for Minister [Kieran] O’Donnell and the other local government TDs – but it’s not good enough. What we need instead is for the government and officials to take control and stop dragging their feet, pass the law, and then step aside and let Limerick people make our decision," he added.

Mr Moran added that he will shortly be launching a campaign to encourage as many people in the county as possible to register to vote, and to promote vibrant discussion and debate about the new role and the issues that will face whoever wins the election in the new role.