‘Limerick City Council is pathetic and going nowhere’ – Crowe

FIANNA Fáil South East Clare Councillor Cathal Crowe does not have any faith in Limerick City Council to administer any part of County Clare.
At a special meeting of Clare County Council on Monday to consider the council’s response to Government moves to extend the Limerick city boundary into parts of South East Clare, Councillor Crowe stated, “I do not have any faith in Limerick City Council to administer any part of Clare. All that the city council sees are dollar signs by taking over the likes of Raheen and Dooradoyle in the Limerick county area. But as a council, Limerick City Council is pathetic and going nowhere. They should not be allowed to take an inch,” he commented.
In February, the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, set up a Limerick local government committee to make recommendations on the most appropriate local government arrangements for Limerick. The committee’s terms of reference include whether Limerick County Council and the city council should be combined or whether there should be an adjustment between the boundary of County Clare and Limerick city or county.
Westbury Councillor Pascal Fitzgerald said that because of Minister Gormley’s Limerick ties, he was compromised and could not be objective. “He shouldn’t have anything to do with the process. I don’t have any trust in Minister Gormley on this issue. He went to St Munchin’s College himself, which is just inside the Limerick city boundary, and he knows a lot of people in Limerick. He’d be putting the Limerick cause forward all the time,” he said. He also expressed concern that the former Mayor of Limerick John Gilligan had been speaking on Limerick radio last week as if the “deal was done” and that the boundary was done and would be coming over into parts of South East Clare, including Westbury, Parteen and Meelick.
Councillor James Breen agreed that Clare should not give an inch in relation to a boundary extension for Limerick. He also said that the decision would ultimately be a political one. “This is the first major test for Minister Tony Killeen to flex his political muscle at the Cabinet table and fight for Clare’s cause,” he remarked.
Councillor PJ Kelly said that there was only one reason for the proposed boundary extension and that was “the financial misadventure and financial failure of Limerick City Council”.
But Councillor Brian Meaney said that the region needed a strong Mid-West and a vibrant Limerick and that the “not an inch” attitude would not save any jobs in the area or do Clare any good.
The council agreed that it would hold a second special meeting this Thursday to finalise its response. Rather than all councillors attending the meeting, members of the Shannon Electoral Area Committee and the Killaloe Electoral Area Committee and the Corporate Policy Group would attend the meeting.