PEOPLE Before Profit’s (PBP) mayoral candidate for Limerick, Ruairí Fahy, has criticised the lack of powers that have been given to the new directly-elected mayor’s (DEM) role.
PBP this week launched their local election manifesto with candidates outlining local issues and campaigns to fight for public housing, against evictions, for better maintenance, and climate action including state led retrofits and free public transport, as well as new DEM position.
Criticising the lack of powers given to the DEM, and the “history will be made” marketing campaign, Mr Fahy hit out that his party’s people power campaign is what really makes history.
“People getting organised, people fighting together, people uniting for real change because, in reality, there was a promise made that a lot of powers be devolved to the council in Limerick to make decisions locally, to decide how spending happened locally, but the power remains in the executive, very little has been transferred over to a new directly-elected mayor position,” he claimed.
Highlighting the limitations of council spending being decided centrally by national policy, Mr Fahy outlined the need for communities to be involved in the creation of the budget and development plan.
“We need to ensure that it’s not just sports, it’s arts, it’s cultural facilities, community centres, all of these things, people are crying out for them and since Covid social isolation has gone through the roof and people need places to meet, people need community centres, they need public spaces that are free for them to go to,” Mr Fahy added.
Whether elected as a councillor for Limerick City North or as mayor, the PBP hopeful declared his desire to see fare-free public transport using funds from the new mayoral budget.
