Statement from the Mayor of Limerick, John Moran 

The Mayor of Limerick, John Moran, has today declared that in his view Limerick is facing a housing emergency, ahead of a series of critical votes in the Council Chamber on housing delivery.

The Mayor’s statement comes as councillors prepare to debate proposals that could significantly impact adversely the delivery of new homes across the city and county.

In a detailed blog published today, the Mayor sets out the scale of the challenge facing Limerick, highlighting a sustained shortfall in housing delivery over recent years.

“Limerick is in a housing emergency. This is not a political slogan—it is a fact,” Mayor Moran said.

“We have been delivering only a fraction of the homes we need. The result is a growing gap of thousands of homes that is affecting families, workers and young people right across our city.”

The Mayor pointed to data showing that Limerick has delivered significantly fewer homes than required, with recent Government analysis placing the local authority at or near the bottom of national public housing delivery rankings.

“Over the past number of years, across both public and private housing we have built roughly one-third of the total number of homes required. That is the awful reality we must now confront and correct.”

Citing the need to deliver 4,000 homes a year to catch up on the last decade of under-delivery, Mayor Moran pointed out that in practical terms this would mean completing every year the delivery of 14 sites of the same scale as the LDA Gasworks site on the Dock Road. On the Gasworks site on Dock Road, the LDA proposes to deliver 285 new homes by building apartment blocks of up to eight storeys.

The Mayor emphasised that the decisions before councillors this week will be critical in showing that they too are determined to play their part so that Limerick can begin to close that gap.

“Having set up new delivery units and embraced his calls for innovation in housing, officials have been doing all they can to speed up delivery. The question now facing councillors is straightforward: do they also want to help accelerate housing delivery, or do they want to make it harder to build the homes people need?”

The Mayor particularly raised concerns about new proposals that could mean the majority of councillors aborting public housing projects at an early stage of development, before full design, analysis and consultation have even taken place.

“Every legitimate project must be properly examined, improved where needed, and allowed to be assessed through the planning process. But we cannot afford to abort what could be projects delivering very valuable housing before we even understand their full potential or impact.”

The blog outlines a pathway forward, including:

• increased housing delivery across all viable sites
• faster decision-making
• use of modern construction methods
• and consideration of additional investment, including borrowing where appropriate

Mayor Moran stressed that solving the housing emergency will require collective leadership and a willingness to embrace change.

“This is not about one project or one site. It is about whether we are prepared to act at the scale and speed required to meet the needs of our people.

We cannot continue to fall further behind while demand grows. Delay is not a neutral choice, it has real consequences for people trying to find a home.”

The full blog, “Limerick Is in a Housing Emergency” is available on the Mayor’s FROM YOUR MAYOR'S DESK BLOG  

ENDS