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Hogan announces new local government structure for Limerick

Environment Minister Phil Hogan today announced the creation of a new single local authority to replace the current Limerick City and County Councils. This historic decision will boost local economic activity and create potential savings of over €15 million for the Authority over time.

Minster Hogan said that...

This decision will allow the Authority to address the social, economic and administrative issues affecting Limerick by the creation of a single local authority under the leadership of a single elected council and single management.

Benefits will include:

  • Reduce costs for Limerick City Businesses. It will be possible to harmonise the rates downwards to the County Council level of €59.91 (City rate is currently €76.46);
  • The Economic Committee will drive economic development by creating cohesion and co-ordinating the local authority with development and enterprise agencies more efficiently;
  • Free up of resources for critical projects such as the revitalisation of Limerick’s city centre, regeneration, and support for enterprise and Gateway development;
  • Help to rebalance the City’s socio-economic profile which is currently skewed by exclusion of certain suburbs;
  • Potential savings of up to €15 million could be realised through merging of staffing and administrative structures and elimination of duplication;
  • Election of the Mayor of the new unitary authority after the 2014 local elections for the full five year term of the new authority;

The new unitary authority will come into being following the 2014 local elections.

The full press release can be read here