By Shaun Connolly and Kathryn Hayes

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The merger of the city and county — which will not take in any parts of neighbouring Clare — will result in savings of some €15m per year and include job losses at the two authorities, Mr Hogan said.

The new single tier local government for Limerick will have a directly elected mayor in 2014 who will serve for five years.

The minister said Dublin would also get a city-wide mayor the same year after Fine Gael criticised previous proposals for such a role by the Greens as inadequate.

Mr Hogan said rates for the new Limerick authority would be harmonised down to the present county level.

Mr Hogan rejected suggestions by the Limerick Local Government Committee that a 5km/sq area of Co Clare be transferred to Limerick.

"There is wide agreement on the need for urgent, decisive change in local government in Limerick. The decisions that we have taken will provide for successful transition to much stronger local government for Limerick which is essential to the future success of the city and its region," he said.

Mr Hogan insisted he would not rule out any scenarios for other local authorities and said he could not guarantee that existing county boundaries would be left untouched.

Meanwhile, the Department of the Environment has confirmed that independent experts will not now be carrying out a review into allegations of planning irregularities.

Mr Hogan’s Green predecessor John Gormley ordered a review of planning decisions by Dublin and Cork city councils, as well as county councils in Carlow, Meath, Galway and Cork.

Mr Hogan said the format of the investigation was considered "inappropriate" and internal review is being carrying out instead.

In Limerick, support for the shake-up seemed widespread despite early reservations about the radical proposals.

Among the recommendations of the Brosnan report was the transfer to Limerick of about 5km sq of land in Clare, and also some non-residential land being developed by the University of Limerick.

However, there will be no transfer of any parts of Clare into the new single authority according to yesterday’s announcement, which the Mr Hogan, said would create potential savings of over €15 million.

Welcoming the minister’s announcement last night, Denis Brosnan said it now means the show can move on.

"It’s good to see everything is moving on. Limerick and the region are still suffering in a big way and obviously this is the first step in trying to restore the whole region, So I’m delighted the minister has made that decision so the show can move on now and hopefully move to one authority," Mr Brosnan said.

The newly elected Mayor of Limerick Cllr Jim Long also welcomed Mr Hogan’s decision but insisted thatLimerick city still be the driving force of the new single authority.

"While Limerick City Council has for years been in favour of a boundary extension, I am confident that the city will be the focal point and the driving force of this new local authority. This will allow for much improved planning and development," Mayor Long said.

It’s not yet known how many councillors will serve on the new single authority.

The expectation is the number of elected representatives will be reduced from the total current figure of 45 to around 30.

However, this number will be dependent on the population statistics from this year’s census taken in April, which are unlikely to be known until 2013 at the earliest.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, June 29, 2011