BREAKING: New candidate in bid to become Limerick's first directly elected mayor

THE FORMER secretary general at the Department of Finance John Moran will bid to enter the race to become Limerick's first directly elected mayor.

Mr Moran, who grew up in Mungret and has family roots in Athea, becomes the third confirmed candidate to enter the maiden contest, due to take place on June 7 next.

Now living in Limerick city centre, he's the second person in the space of just a few hours to express interest in the role.

Earlier this Tuesday, Limerick Chamber chief executive Dee Ryan said she will seek the Fianna Fail nomination for the prestigious job.

Unlike her, Mr Moran, pictured below, says will run as an independent.

But he pointed out that legislation - passed last week - contains an extra hurdle for anyone independent of party politics, and asked his supporters to formally nominate him as a candidate. He will need to gather the signatures of 60 local voters to be allowed contest the election.

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"I love Limerick so much, and as mayor I will work, day and night, for us to match our potential as a county,” he said.

"Finally, the era of a largely-ceremonial, part-time mayor for Limerick, and selected by the parties on a rota, is over,” he said.

"The new full-time executive mayor, chosen directly by the people for five years, will develop how an annual budget of almost one billion euros should be invested," Mr Moran added.

"On the Mayor’s shoulders will be pivotal decisions which will have consequences for decades in our county. Make those correctly, and the future will be bright. Get them wrong and we will slip further behind other areas in Ireland," he warned.

Mr Moran feels Limerick will be better off with a non-party person in the position.

"The mayor will also have to work in ways we have never seen before, with councillors right across the political spectrum and from both city and county,” he said.

Mr Moran was a former secretary general at the Department of Finance, serving alongside fellow Limerick TD, Finance Minister Michael Noonan during the toughest recession in a generation.

A board member of the European Investment Bank, he was key to securing a loan which turbo-charged the Opera Centre's development.

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

Mr Moran chairs the Hunt Museum and Narrative Four.

He says if he does secure the 60 signatures to join the race, he would be "optimistic" of his chances.

"I have long believed Limerick has huge untapped potential which can be realised by an executive mayor with the right skills and life experiences. We can be more ambitious than we have been about outcomes. We deserve better delivery of important infrastructure, housing, public services and business supports. Other candidates may differ from me of course and argue for the status quo and voters need to hear us debate those differences too," he said.

Mr Moran becomes the third person to declare for the role, having expressed an interest in running earlier this month.

If he passes the 60 voter mark, he will join he ballot paper alongside Ruairi Fahy, People Before Profit and Green Party TD Brian Leddin.

Local businesswoman Helen O'Donnell has also shown an interest, while Ms Ryan will await a verdict from Fianna Fail to see if she runs on their ticket.