Limerick Mayor frontrunner John Moran has released the third pillar, A More Healthy Limerick, of his plan to make Limerick “the most desirable location in Ireland to live”. This adds to the other two pillars, A More Liveable Limerick and A More Prosperous Limerick, already issued.  In a sign of his determination to deliver #MoreForLimerick, in total, he has now published more than 300 actions that he has committed to deliver over the Mayor’s five-year term.

Limerick Mayor frontrunner John Moran has released the third pillar, A More Healthy Limerick, of his plan to make Limerick “the most desirable location in Ireland to live”. This adds to the other two pillars, A More Liveable Limerick and A More Prosperous Limerick, already issued.  In a sign of his determination to deliver #MoreForLimerick, in total, he has now published more than 300 actions that he has committed to deliver over the Mayor’s five-year term.

In this latest document, the former Department of Finance chief continues the approach of setting out specific visions for each area of focus and deliverable and measurable actions. He says that for him, the core principles underlying the document are that everyone in the county deserves:

• Care that is equitable
• Care as close to home as possible
• Care that is timely, and
• Care that is of high quality

Moran commented: “If the people of Limerick trust me to be their Mayor, I want them to know before the election how I will work tirelessly to improve the poor quality of healthcare in our county.”

“I know the consequences of this problem only too well personally. I myself had to abandon the UHL ER in early 2022 to seek healthcare in Galway for a life-threatening obstruction of the bowel – which I later discovered after an emergency life-saving operation was Stage 3 cancer. I know I was one of the lucky ones,“ he said.

“It is clear that there is a lack of ambition, vision and urgency.   Blockages are allowed to remain too long in the system – for example in the delivery of stalled primary health care centres,” he added.

John Moran believes this is caused by a lack of sufficient local accountability in both directions between the HSE and Limerick Council.

“It is why I am asking for the management of the HSE and UHL to agree to meet me every quarter and to come before the councillors at least annually to present on their record of improving the situation, and to let us know what progress they plan to deliver  in the upcoming year,” he said.

The plan also contains a number of positive and proactive ideas about how to improve mental health levels, with a lot of focus on better coordination of services and moving care closer to the patient.

Mr Moran has agreed to lead by example as Mayor in taking Mental Health First Aid training – and to encourage others to do likewise in Limerick.

He has also recommended a Mental Health Innovation Hub and Virtual Reality (VR) Therapy Spaces which can give VT experiences that simulate therapeutic environments, such as peaceful forests or beaches, for use in therapy sessions to help individuals with anxiety or PTSD and for those for whom our natural environments are less accessible.

The Plan also puts a lot of emphasis on actions to lead to better preventative health outcomes for Limerick residents, including rigorous (and public) monitoring of progress over a number of different heads which he will personally supervise during the Mayoral term.

The final section contains actions to create a more healthy environment and to better use of natural assets like Lough Gur, Ballyhoura and new parks with exercise amenities along the banks of the Shannon especially in Limerick city.
With many residents of Limerick from Askteaton to Kildimo, Ballysteen to Shanagolden under the shadow of boiled water notices for almost a year now, he has committed to make that a priority and to provide a weekly report to the residents until the problem is fixed.

It is once more evident that Moran has taken advantage of the freedom of being an independent in formulating this innovative manifesto unbounded by existing party policies.

“I have wanted to leverage off the great work already being done in communities and initiatives underway at Limerick Council in creating this more holistic plan.” he said.  “If there is another big plan to which the HSE are working, it is not obvious to me after weeks of consulting.   We have just had more announcements by Government this past week which seem to leave Limerick out.”

 “This is why one of the first actions I will take is to gather an expert group to assess the existing reviews and plans with a Limerick bias for which I do not apologise.  I want them to advise me and the new Council quickly on what is best for Limerick – not just what Dublin wants to do.  I need to know clearly and based on evidence what to demand for Limerick if I am trusted to be our Mayor.”