LIMERICK City and County Council has expressed its disappointed and rejected comments made by Fianna Fáil TD Willie O’Dea in relation to communications about the revitalisation of O’Connell Street.
Speaking to the Limerick Post last week, Deputy O’Dea described the city centre works as another imposition for retailers, particularly in the run up to Christmas.
He also claimed that most retailers in the city are already hanging on by a thread after enduring almost two years of lockdowns and various Covid restrictions.
“The current situation where a huge part of the core retail section of O’Connell Street has now been a building site for months now is another major imposition for retailers and shoppers alike, particularly in the run up to Christmas, which is the busiest time of the year for retailers,” he said.
“City centre traders are telling me that they are not receiving any communication from either the Council or the contractor on site as to when the job will be finished.”
However, Limerick City and County Council said this week that it has a wide-ranging communications strategy in place as part of the project.
According to the local authority, the strategy includes regular meetings with Limerick Chamber and the City Centre Traders Association taking place with Council and contractors represented, as well as regular media releases and social media posts about the project.
“On large-scale and long running projects we also review our communications and adapt where necessary. Perhaps if Deputy O’Dea would share the names and address of those retailers he has mentioned with the Council, we can discuss the details further,” a Council spokesperson said.
“We acknowledge there have been some delays to the project and perhaps it could be this message being communicated rather than the lack of communication, which might be the underlying issue for the retailers concerned.”
