John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

To support the implementation of the 2007 report by Mr. John Fitzgerald entitled, Addressing Issues of Social Exclusion in Moyross and Other Disadvantaged Areas of Limerick City, I made an order extending the boundary of Limerick City Council in February 2008 which extended the city area by approximately one third. The new boundary became effective from 1 March 2008. The extension was supported by Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council. At the time I particularly welcomed the co-operation and agreement between the two councils on the issue.

The Green Paper on local government, Stronger Local Democracy - Options for Change, which I published in April 2008, raised the question as to whether change in local government arrangements was necessary in key locations, including Limerick, to drive regional development. The Green Paper noted that part of the challenge was to ensure local government would be capable of developing and facilitating the development of the gateways as envisaged by the national spatial strategy. It suggested a number of possible solutions in this regard.

Consensus has not emerged at local level on more substantial change to the Limerick city boundary, as sought by the city council. However, there is a need for much greater coherence in the governance of Limerick and my Department has been considering the issues involved in Limerick as part of the process of finalising the White Paper on local government. The renewed programme for Government is also relevant to this question. The programme commits to the provision of democratic leadership for regional authorities and the strengthening of their strategic role across a range of functions, in addition to their realignment to reflect the gateways in the national spatial strategy. These considerations lie at the heart of my thinking on local government. The Government is giving active consideration to a range of local government issues, including how best to provide for the optimal arrangements for the governance of Limerick. I hope to make an announcement in this regard in the near future.

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