A BUDGET tells us what we can and can’t afford. For those numerically challenged, like this writer himself, budget day at Limerick City and County Council provides one of the more bewildering meetings of the year when caught without a calculator.
But at the end of the day, the books need to be balanced, the purse replenished, and public debt lowered.
It was once said that a budget is an opportunity to bring honesty to public finances and, from Mayor John Moran’s opening speech, it was equally evident that this was something very important to him.
In his 30-minute address, home truths were told. He pointed out to councillors how, in 2025, the Council delivered a budget of almost €1billion. This meant the delivery of services – from housing and roads to parks, environmental services, culture, and community supports. But by doing so, the Council was “running our well dry”.
Councillor John Sheahan felt there was a lot to be “digested” in Mayor Moran’s budget speech, which the Fine Gael councillor said came against a backdrop of a touted “austerity bailout budget”.
Those words, he said, hadn’t been used in Ireland since the time of the Trioka when Moran was the secretary general in the Department of Finance.
“This is a first for me in 21 years,” Cllr Sheahan told the meeting, “that the persons who formulated the budget and put it to us bring it with a change before we start”.
The Newcastle West district representative took the view that this could be because of an “onslaught of pressure” over the six per cent commercial rate increase. He did, however, welcome the Mayor’s proposal of an enhancement of the SME scheme, but demanded to know the cost and where the money would come from.
“There’s a lot in this. We set out our stall at the start of this budget process with all the armageddon of austerity €8m gaps or bailouts. We as councillors always want to protect our core services and they are not fully protected in this budget,” Cllr Sheahan said before calling for an hour-long adjournment – the first of many that day.
For those in the public gallery and the press looking on, it was a day of playing the waiting game as party leaders met with Limerick’s first citizen to find ways to protect core services, while at the same time balancing the budget.
There was much discussion in the party rooms and after the four or fifth lengthy adjournment, signs of frustration were beginning to show.
“If I ran my business like this it would be bust in the morning,” Fine Gael councillor Adam Teskey bellowed as the day dragged on.
“As I told you outside, the two party leaders are having negotiations with the Mayor,” Priomh Chomhairleoir Cllr Catherine Slattery (FF) replied.
“The negotiations seem to be going on an awful lot longer with you guys,” Independent councillor Maria Donoghue fired back.
After hours of adjournments, councillors, the Council executive, and the Mayor finally reconvened in the Dooradoyle chamber after 5pm.
Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Collins acknowledged it had been a difficult day with lots of negotiations, but accepted that the changes agreed upon would help their constituents in the year ahead.
Green Party councillor Seán Hartigan said the budget presented was proof that councillors have been listened to with their concerns taken onboard.
– Local Democracy Deporting Scheme