“TAKING a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most” is the quote from Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment that hung over the Council chambers in Dooradoyle on Monday as Ireland’s first directly-elected mayor, Mayor of Limerick John Moran, brought his mayoral plan before councillors.
The ambitious 105-page document aims to see a total of 50,000 new residents accommodated in Limerick by 2040, more amenities and improved public transport for county towns and villages, better road safety, increased Garda resources, investment in neglected buildings, and making areas in South East Limerick – such as Lough Gur, Kilmallock, and Ballyhoura – a tourist destination to rival any other.
Councillors met this past Monday in County Hall to give the mayor their feedback, but before this could happen a special meeting was called to consider whether the meeting should go ahead at all.
Fianna Fáil councillor Catherine Slattery said she was willing to support a request for the meeting to be changed from a special meeting to an ordinary one under one condition – she wanted a commitment from Mayor Moran that workshops would be provided to all councillors on his draft programme.
After agreeing to Cllr Slattery’s ultimatum, Mayor Moran was allowed to outline for them his plans for the future.
But again, the Mayor was met with hurdles to jump after giving a speech to try and win councillors over on the draft plan when Cllr Slattery called for the meeting to then be adjourned until the workshops were facilitated by Moran. Seconding her proposal, Cllr Bridie Collins (FF) claiming that there were points in the draft document that would need change to legislation.
“There’s nothing wrong with an ambitious programme as long as it’s deliverable,” Cllr Collins declared.
Fine Gael councillor Liam Galvin claimed that his difficulty with Moran’s draft plan was that 14 of the 19 items suggested by councillors from the the Newcastle West Municipal District were not included.
“Where does that leave us?” Cllr Galvin asked. “If you go to the shop with your shopping list and forget to buy milk, you can go back and get the milk, but can we go back to your wishlist in two years time?”
Cllr Galvin also wanted it made clear to the Mayor that if his programme was a failure it is on no one else’s head but his own. The Fine Gael man took the position that the Mayor’s plan had “way too many promises” and that he “will not be held accountable for its success or failure”.
‘A wishlist from little Johnnie for Christmas for Santy’
Despite the dissent from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, Independent councillor Maria Donoghue was adamant that the Council should “strike while the iron is hot”.
“Limerick has voted for a mayor. He has got the bones of 30,000 votes … Are we really going to argue over high level issues rather than getting into the nitty gritty?” she inquired.
Cllr Daniel Butler (FG) pointed out that councillors want to get the Mayor’s programme right as they understand its importance, arguing that if councillors “just get on with it” they would “do something that’s half-baked”.
“We’re trying to offer due diligence to ensure the document is up to scratch. We’re all ambitious for Limerick,” Cllr Butler insisted.
Cllr Stephen Keary (FG) was also far from impressed with the draft document, claiming that “with no costings done” it reads “more like a wishlist from little Johnnie for Christmas for Santy”.
Councillors vote 21 to 16 in favour of deferring the meeting on the mayoral programme until after workshops are carried out.
