FOLLOWING his blistering attack last week on the role of Limerick Chamber in its operation of the Milk Market, Cllr Tom Shortt, is now calling on it to “voluntarily relinquish the Market Trustees Management Contract”. One of nine city councillors elected to the Milk Market Trustees, he claimed that despite the success of the market, the affairs of the trustees who operate it “are in disarray”. Referring to failure to hold meetings of the Market Trustees and Management Committee, for more than six months, he said;
“This unhappy state of affairs is in contravention of the legislation governing the Market Trustees and involves a serious denial of democratic oversight by elected councillors who are denied their legal entitlement to an input regarding the affairs of the Trustees due to the absence of meetings.
“This situation arose after a change of mind by the Chamber last year resulted in a decision to continue with the contract based on an argument that the Chamber possessed the appropriate business acumen for the job linked to a promise to provide dynamic new management ideas.
“Now the record shows that the Chamber has been negligent regarding the proper corporate governance of the Trustees and has not fulfilled the promise to introduce fresh business initiatives in order to merit the payment of management fees of €60,000 per annum at a time when the Trustees must borrow in order to transfer this money to the Chamber, storing up a problem for the Trustees into the future”.
Defending Limerick Chamber as the key driver in the redevelopment of the market, its president, Gordon Kearney, said that at a time when no other organisation had an active interest in the market, it was the Chamber which championed and oversaw its redevelopment.
“I would like to acknowledge and extend our sincere thanks to John Rice and David O’Mahony, both Chamber trustees, for all their efforts in bringing the Milk Market site to where it is today”.
Mr Kearney detailed the market’s various achievements. and awards and said that the Milk Market is one of the most successful markets in Ireland.
“It is one of the initiatives aimed at city centre renewal and this has been driven by the Chamber. We would encourage other similar developments as part of a master plan for city centre renewal”.
*Cllr Shortt’s initial condemnation of Chamber arrived too late for publication last week.
