ONE of the Council’s most important achievements of 2025 has been the way it is learning to use the new mayoral system to improve how decisions are made and implemented.
So said directly-elected Mayor John Moran himself during the local authority’s 2026 Budget meeting.
Mayor Moran reminded Council members how they all agreed, when delivering the first budget with a directly-elected Mayor, that they could do better to have more meaningful engagement between councillors, the executive, and his office – all while giving the public a clearer line of accountability for how almost €1billion is spent.
“This year has seen earlier and more meaningful information sharing and discussion including better use of the enhanced corporate policy group and other meetings between political leaders,” Mayor Moran revealed.
He told councillors that Limerick City and County Council has begun to embed the Mayoral Programme 2024–2029 so that day-to-day activities and spending are not just consumed by
business as usual but also reflect the changes needed for Limerick’s longer-term vision for a more liveable, prosperous, and healthy Limerick.
“We now use the mayoral fund to pilot new approaches – from smart homes, tackling dereliction, community initiatives like a new music festival, new childcare facilities, economic initiatives like Twilight Thursday, and to help with preparations for big events such as the Ryder Cup and Europride,” Mayor Moran said.
“Limerick now has unparalleled access to national politicians and agencies through the Limerick Mayoral and Government Consultative Forum and the Project Ireland 2040 Delivery Board. We have not always agreed on every detail – that is democracy.
“But with the passage of every day, we show that Limerick can and will make this new model work for Limerick, and that we can use these changes to focus on outcomes rather than just process – and most importantly that when it comes to making decisions, we must always put place and the interests of Limerick before politics.
“This is going to be all the more important for these next couple of years as we face up very tough choices for Budget 2026 and those budgets beyond,” Mayor Moran concluded.
– Local Democracy Deporting Scheme