Parking fees hike one of Limerick mayor's proposals to plug growing budget gap

MAYOR John Moran has called for fees paid by residents across Limerick for parking to be hiked from €6.50 a year to €50 every 12 months. At present, people who own a vehicle in the metropolitan area, Abbeyfeale, Newcastle West and Kilmallock can apply for a parking permit and pay the set fee to park in the street they live, and one adjoining street. However, speaking at this Friday's annual local authority budget meeting, the mayor said the "well has run dry" in terms of local finances. READ MORE: More than 1,000 babies and young mothers remembered in Limerick ceremony And he believes increasing this charge is a way of plugging a significant gap in the coffers. In his opening statement to councillors ahead of an adjournement until 1.30pm this afternoon, he issued a stark warning over the funds available to the local authority. Confirming he has asked council officials to review the change to the parking charge, Mayor Moran added: "I would like them to use this review to see if we can introduce greater flexibility in the range of streets where people can park. Even raising that annual charge to €50 or just under one euro a week, would raise €50,000 of valuable income every year." Elsewhere, Mayor Moran is proposing to row back on plans for an across-the-board commercial rate rise of 6%. The rate is a charge paid by business owners based on the size of the property that operate on. "I am very conscious of the pain that even this level of increase will cause to businesses right across the county, many of whom are struggling to survive and certainly do not propose it lightly. I do, however, believe that businesses too understand all too well that they too benefit when our streets are regularly cleaned, when we can afford to support events like All we Have are Days, Riverfest, Twilight Thursdays and Christmas Festivities and work to provide more housing for their employees," he said. The mayor proposed an amendment to his budget, where a 6% rise was proposed, which would see smaller firms across the city avoid a 6% rate increase. It would see rates increases capped at 2% for small companies. Elsewhere, Mayor Moran wants to see funds from the hedge cutting grant scheme re-allocated to the maintenance of burial plots. The changes would be funded by a cut in the relief given to owners of vacant properties. "I think we all agree that finding ways to encourage owners to put vacant properties into active use is welcome," he said. The first citizen had previously cautioned over a budget deficit of €8m ahead of this Friday's meeting. In part, this is due to a need to begin repaying a loan to the European Investment Bank, of around €1m per year. He said while this repayment is included in Budget 2026, regular repayments from the local authority estimates are "out of the question". Instead, he wants to borrow more money from the Government into the future on acceptable terms in order to make scheduled repayments on the initial loan. In terms of housing, he says there is a need to "do better", particularly in the case of homes returning to the local authority housing stock when people no longer need them. "I have learned that the speed at which we have prepared those homes for re-occupation has not kept up with the number of homes returning to us. This has meant that at the beginning of 2024 and again in 2025, between 140 and 150 homes which could become homes are not being refurbished for lack of €4m of so of funds to fix them up. By contrast, we are spending some €200 per night per person or some €10m to provide emergency shelter to some 150 people without a home. While we could take false comfort from the fact that national government provides 90% of this cost as a grant, council's budget still bears the brunt of €1m or so each year." He added: "We cannot in all conscience leave these houses empty where a spend of €40,000 or so on average could bring them immediately back to use as homes. Remember, building just one new home could cost a sum ten times that amount.." To this end, Mayor Moran proposed €3.2m of council's remaining available reserves are put towards the annual programme of retrofitting homes. "This would increase the number coming back into service from 70 homes to 100," he said. Mayor Moran said he wants to keep €1m of priority funding from the sale of council assets to support children aged zero to four years in King's Island, an area he described as one which has the "most deprivation". "In a year of particularly scarce resources it would have been an easy option to defer this project. But that would not be right. I am however realistic too. By focusing mainly on one of our areas of most deprivation – Kings Island – I believe we can maximise the impact of our resources. I am using mayoral funds to match financial help from the HSE to collectively provide €500,000 to drive forward practical change for all children aged 0-4 suffering from deprivation, starting on Kings Island," he confirmed. He warned councillors that tougher choices may need to be made next year, unless more support for Limerick City and County Council comes from Dublin. "We can no longer ignore serious structural problems which have been building up for years in our budget. Unless we find ways to make things change for the better, for example convincing national government that it can no longer continue to underfund local government, even if we find ways to achieve a balancde budget today, we will be faced with even more stark choices for 2027," said Mayor Moran. Even passing the budget this Friday, the mayor said, will not fix the problems. "It is, and I will be honest, as I should be honest, only buy us time to make the real changes we need or we will be back here again next year with even worse decisions to make," he said Reacting to his opening remarks, Cllr John Sheahan proposed that the budget meeting be adjourned for one hour to discuss his proposals. There is a lot to be digested in this. It comes against the backdrop of what was being touted as an austerity bailout budget with words like default and things like that used in it. Those words have not been used in Ireland since the time the Troika were here."