THERE has been only one person fighting for a Caherdavin Playground in the last five years.
That’s according to Fine Gael councillor Olivia O’Sullivan, who hit out at local election candidates making playground promises in the run up to the June 7 contest.
“There has been only one person actually fighting for this playground for the past five years, one person actively working on it, and I am that person,” the City North representative told the Limerick Post.
“People are naively speaking about it as if a playground can appear overnight. There was no budget for a playground when I started my campaign, and without money there was nothing happening.”
Cllr O’Sullivan says that she secured support to make the Caherdavin Playground a live council project.
“I secured the initial funding and have chased funding allocations every year since with €410k ringfenced to date. I have walked lands with council engineers and local landowners to find location options. I brought residents’ concerns to the council after they selected an Ennis Road site and it became apparent that location was just not suitable,” she insisted.
Cllr O’Sullivan did, however, agree with those saying the area doesn’t have sufficient amenities for families.
“That is one of the primary reasons I ran for election in the first place,” she said, adding that she has “spoken to TUS about using some of the 38 acres of their new Coonagh Campus for an additional park amenity with a running track”.
“We need far more facilities out here for all ages in a growing population, and you can be sure that I will keep fighting for them.”
