Councillors in Limerick were surprised on Monday to be informed the council cannot attach life buoys to Sarsfield Bridge as it is a “protected structure”, despite a number of people having jumped from the bridge.
During a meeting of the council, Fianna Fáil's Seán Lynch, put forward a notice of motion, that the local authority "place a life buoy in the centre of Sarsfield Bridge [which connects Ennis Road to Sarsfield Street in the city centre], as a matter of urgency" after a number of people had lost their lives jumping from the bridge into the river Shannon.
However, Cllr Lynch was informed by senior executive officer Christy O’Connor that the council was “not allowed attach any fixture” to the bridge as it is “a protected structure”.
“There are 50 life belts located throughout the city centre at regular intervals along the various water bodies,” Mr O’Connor added.
Matter of urgency
He said the council would consider Cllr Lynch’s proposal “as a matter of urgency”.
A council source said any physical changes to a protected structure “is a reserved function of councillors”.
When contacted for comment, the council's conservation officer, Tom Cassidy responded: "If a protected structure can lend itself to housing potentially life-saving equipment – be it a life belt, or a defibrillator unit – that should be examined, if the ethicacy of the location is in the interests of the common good."
A protected structure is a structure which is considered to be of special interest from an architectural, historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural, scientific, social or technical point of view. Sarsfield Bridge is listed as a protected structure in council development plans.
‘Not good enough’
“I want the officials to go back and look at it again. It’s not good enough. You can’t put a price on a person’s life – what’s more important, the life of a person or a protected structure,” Cllr Lynch said. “I’ve asked the officials to review it as a matter of urgency.”
Fine Gael Cllr Daniel Butler told the council meeting how a life buoy had been attached to a steel pole on the pavement along Thomond Bridge, which is also a designated protected structure.
Cllr Lynch told the meeting how a Dublin couple had been visiting Limerick last December when they witnessed a man jump to his death off Sarsfield Bridge. “They felt utterly useless because there was nothing they could do effectively; there was no life buoy for them to get to quickly.”