'Unfair’ - Council to spend €200k on historic building in Limerick town it doesn’t own
Councillors raise concerns over €220k council contribution for Merchant’s House restoration, urging full government funding
Concerns have been raised after it was confirmed that Limerick City and County Council is to spend more than €200,000 on works to restore and upgrade an historic building in Kilmallock which it does not own.
The information came to light during the December meeting of the Cappamore-Kilmallock Municipal District as councillors received a briefing on the project to rejuvenate the Merchant’s House site in Kilmallock.
In October, it was announced that €886,200 had been allocated for the project under the Government’s Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF).
The project, when complete, will see the restoration of two sections within the derelict structure into adaptable multi-functional spaces for enterprise and community use, while the Office of Public Works and the National Monuments Service will consolidate and present the late medieval Merchant’s House at the street front.
Briefing councillors, Town Centre First officer Karen Burke said the local authority is to provide ‘matching funding’ of €220,000 which has been allocated from the Mayor’s Fund. She said the project is complex and ‘tricky’ but that it should be ‘shovel ready’ by the second half of 2027.
Ms Burke added that the ‘capital’ works are expected to cost more than €5 million and that the local authority will have to part-fund that element of the project too - a figure of around €1m. “It will be a significant investment,” she said.
After Cllr Brigid Teefy raised concerns about the funding required saying it was “unfair”, director of service Patricia Liddy agreed saying “it really hurts us”. She said the message “has gone back to Government” from local authorities across the country urging it to provide 100% funding for such projects.
Cllr Teefy also asked why the owner of the Merchant’s House - the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage - is not providing the matching funding. “If the council doesn't own it, why are we coming up with the matching funding?”
Other elected members echoed the sentiments and Ms Burke said she would provide regular progress updates on the project going forward.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme