A REVITALISED Limerick city is crucial to safeguard the future of the midwest region which is in rapid decline, the chairman of the Limerick local government committee has warned.
Mr Denis Brosnan made his comments as a report recommending a single governing authority for the Limerick region and parts of Clare was published.
Mr Brosnan said at the launch of the report that Limerick city centre was “dead”, and he warned that every part of the midwest region would suffer if “Limerick is not fixed”.
He also said the work of the Government-established Mid West Jobs Task Force and other job-creation agencies would be redundant.
“I can assure you of one thing,” Mr Brosnan said, “ if you don’t sort out Limerick city and if you don’t sort out the greater midwest region, there won’t be jobs here for the next 10 years.
“Every part of this region will suffer until we revitalise the old Limerick city centre . . . you all know it is dead,” he added.
The Limerick Local Government Committee, was established in February to advise the Government on the most appropriate local government arrangements for Limerick.
Two local authorities govern Limerick city and county while Clare County Council governs areas on the north of the river Shannon on the outskirts of the city. A joint authority is the preferred option of Limerick County Council while Limerick City Council favours an extension to the city boundary.
Clare County Council is reluctant to allow Limerick to govern any part of southeast Clare.
The report published yesterday recommends the establishment of a new unified Limerick local authority to service a population of 187,000. Areas including Castletroy, Raheen, Ballycummin, Dooradoyle, Ballysheedy, Rathuard and Castlemungret in Co Limerick would be part of the enlarged city.
The report also recommends that Shannon Banks, Westbury and the north campus of University of Limerick from Co Clare to the newly extended city be governed by the new authority.
It concludes that €20 million could be saved from efficiencies gained through the merging of structures.