COUNCILLORS IN Clare yesterday expressed near-unanimous opposition to a proposal to place part of the county under the control of a new unitary Limerick authority.
They were speaking at a special meeting of Clare County Council called to discuss the recommendations of the Government-appointed Limerick Local Boundary Committee, chaired by Denis Brosnan.
It has proposed that Limerick city and county councils merge and assume control of Limerick city suburbs in southeast Clare, Shannon Banks and Westbury.
This would result in an area in Co Clare with a population of 3,000 transferring to the new Limerick authority.
Fianna Fáil councillor PJ Kelly said yesterday the recommendation was “akin to Clare being asked to bail out Anglo where the risks are unknown and indefinite”.
He described the Brosnan report as arrogant and uninformed and asked “when will they ever learn?”
Councillors agreed at the meeting to write to Minister for the Environment John Gormley to ascertain the status of the report. Mr Gormley has yet to comment on the findings.
The council also agreed to submit a comprehensive response to the group’s recommendations when the status of the report is established.
County manager Tom Coughlan said the report envisaged the Limerick metropolitan area as having a combined population of more than 180,000.
The addition of the 3,000 Clare people “seems inconsequential in the context of the overall population of 180,000. We do not see the logic of amending a county boundary for an additional 2,000-3,000 people.”
Fine Gael councillor Johnny Flynn said moving 3,000 Clare people into Limerick would do nothing to improve the quality of life for people living in the city.
Green councillor Brian Meaney said: “I support the findings of the Brosnan report and I don’t apologise for that.” Talk of “not an inch” was disgraceful. He hoped progress would be made with the report as “we have to begin to work on a regional basis”.
