Kathy Masterson
ONE of the key elements of the ambitious Limerick 2030 plan is expected to get the green light from the Government in the coming weeks.
The move will see several hundred Revenue Commissioners staff relocated from Sarsfield House and River House to the redeveloped Opera Centre.
Sarsfield House, which has been described by local councillors as “the ugliest building in Limerick”, will then be demolished to make way for a new city park.
“The Revenue Commissioners’ staff at Sarsfield House will be decanted into a new office block on the Opera site across from the Hunt Museum, and ultimately Sarsfield House will be demolished.
“The decision has now been fully supported by OPW (Office of Public Works), I already have the support of the Revenue Commissioners, obviously the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure. I am going to Government with it, and we will have a decision within a couple of weeks,” revealed Finance Minister Michael Noonan this week.
During a visit to City Hall, the Minister said it was important to get a decision on the project as “Ministers come and go”.
He explained: “It’s a scheme that will take place over a number of years and will certainly go into the life of the next Government, whatever the colour of that Government is, it will be bound by the Government decision, which will give the City Council the comfort of being able to plan long-term, in a manner where political changes won’t affect the project.”
Regarding a timeframe for the project, Minister Noonan said: “It will take a while, you’re looking at maybe four or five years of a timeframe, you’re going into a situation where the City Council will be in the position now to look for indications of interest from private sector builders.
“The key bit for the private sector builders is that there will be an anchor tenant that will be stable long-term and paying a rent. That will be the driver of it.”
The Minister also revealed that the University of Limerick has indicated “an interest in principle” in the site, which he would like to see “hardened up so that the whole site can go”.
He concluded: “It’s only when the appropriate and modern office accommodation has been built and fitted that one can decant the staff of the Revenue Commissioners from Sarsfield House and River House into it.”
