FINE Gael councillor and co-founder of the former Pigtown Food Festival, Olivia O’Sullivan has hit out at the local authority for spending €120,000 on an event that “nobody knew about”.
Speaking at October’s Metropolitan District meeting, Cllr O’Sullivan, who ran the Pigtown festival on a voluntary basis for seven years, was “gutted” at the failure of the Flavours of Limerick festival last month.
The company hired by the Council to run the new event as a celebration of Limerick’s “vibrant culinary culture”, she claimed, went into liquidation days before the festival kicking off, leaving a bad taste with all.
Cllr O’Sullivan told the Council that she feels she is the councillor best placed to quiz them on their failings.
The City North representative also said she was shocked to learn that the Council spent €120,000 on a festival that insufficient marketing was done for.
“I had sensed there were issues emerging with the new Council food festival, Flavours of Limerick. It was launched by the Council with the Mayor, relevant director, and head of tourism in a photo at King John’s Castle, and from that point media were asking me questions on it – as a former primary organiser of the city’s food festival – questions to which I had no answers.
“The questions started with why there were no food people in the photos, or at the launch, and no producers, or any other stakeholders. This was the first red flag,’ Cllr O’Sullivan claimed.
“Now I have learned the Council spent €120,000 on a festival that, frankly, nobody knew about. How many Councillors in this chamber even knew it was happening?
“For context, budget for Halloween this year, and going forward from Failte Ireland, is up to €100,000 and we know our Christmas budget is €220,000. For the record, I have no problem with €120,000 being spent on a food festival for Limerick, if that money is being spent correctly.”
Cllr O’Sullivan took the view that local food producers, as well as cafés, restaurants, market stalls, and hotels should all receive a well-deserved boost from a food festival. This, she insisted, would also raise the profile of Limerick food nationally and internationally.
“Limerick has a rich food history and the people who are passionate about local food care about seeing our food heritage recognised, and our profile up there in the Irish food landscape,” she told the Council.
“This ‘festival’ seems to me like a glaring example of the ‘emperor’s new clothes’ – pretending we have a significant food festival does not make a good food festival, or a festival at all, if nobody knows anything about it. I am gutted for all that could have been achieved for that €120,000.”
Cllr O’Sulilvan went on to say that “for context, all seven years of the Pigtown festival, 2017 to 2023 inclusive, could have been delivered with that budget, plus the food producer directory project we also undertook, with change leftover for another year’s Pigtown”.
The Fine Gael woman asked for answers on why the event went ahead if the contracted company could not deliver it.
“Raising this, it is not intended to throw shade on any of the local food industry who were engaged to assist, or rescue, the Flavours festival. I have a lot of respect for people who were involved and have worked with them over the years.”
The Council said it would organise a “warts and all” debriefing for councillors on the festival.