AN EFFECTIVE counterbalance to Dublin can be achieved if Limerick along with Cork, Galway and Waterford work in collaboration to alleviate pressures on the capital.
That’s according to Limerick Chamber’s submission to the Southern Assembly’s draft Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES).
Following on from the scathing criticism levelled at the plan previously by Limerick Mayor James Collins, Chamber Economist, Dr Catríona Cahill, has warned that the draft RSES in its current form does not echo the key goal of the National Planning Framework, to achieve balanced regional growth.
“The Southern Assembly RSES contains three of these four cites and as such is well placed to promote a collaborative multi-city approach.”
However, the draft RSES as it currently stands acknowledges Cork as the ‘principal complementary location to Dublin’, Ms Cahill said.
“This goes against the best interest of the country as other towns and cities in the Southern and Western regions would witness the problem being merely displaced”, she said.
As outlined in its submission, Dr Cahill said that the Chamber’s belief is that the existing economic imbalance will be prolonged unless the RSES acknowledges that a triangle of the three cities working in collaboration.
Limerick Chamber reiterated the need to invest in critical infrastructure to benefit city region interconnectivity, particularly projects such as the M20, the Northern Distributor Road, and the Limerick to Foynes Road.
The need to revitalise the inner-city area to make it desirable for mixed-income living is also highlighted in the submission.
