Cut in volunteering blamed for move to spend more money on council events in Limerick

Fireworks over council's headquarters at Merchant's Quay in the city centre herald the final night of Riverfest most years | PICTURE: Don Moloney

placeholder image — Fireworks over council's headquarters at Merchant's Quay in the city centre herald the final night of Riverfest most years | PICTURE: Don Moloney

Independent councillor Maria Donoghue queries rise in spending for festivals and events like Riverfest

A DECLINE in the level of volunteering after Covid-19 is one of the reasons the council has given for increased spend in its festivals and events budget.

At this month’s metropolitan district meeting, Independent councillor Maria Donoghue asked what led to the “significantly increased spending” on events in 2023 and 2024.

In a written reply, Brendan Troy, the head of economic and tourism development outlined a number of reasons.

He pointed out the contracts for 2023 and 2024 were issued in November 2022.

“The events industry was only recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022 when these tenders were issued. The industry experienced widespread inflation in 2023, particularly with security, equipment hire, insurance and staff costs.

These were largely unavoidable and impacted on budget planning and execution,” wrote Mr Troy. He added before lockdown, there was “a strong culture” of volunteering, meaning less had to be spent on staffing.

“Following the pandemic, this was greatly reduced and staff had to be hired for roles previously carried out by volunteers. Cost increase examples include additional grandstand, the visit of a naval ship and water safety measures,” he wrote.

There will be tighter control in future, he said.