Dee Ryan, Fianna Fáil’s candidate for the Limerick Mayoral Election, has announced she plans to disperse the €40 million in additional spending Government has committed to the Mayor of Limerick over five years through a new People & Communities Fund.
Ms. Ryan’s proposed new, demand-led fund would be open to sporting groups, voluntary groups and community groups to fund one-off capital projects across Limerick City, county towns and villages.
Speaking from her home in county Limerick, Ms. Ryan said: "The Mayor of Limerick will receive €40 million from Government over five years to spend as they see fit. What I am announcing today is my plan to put this money to work to directly improve people’s lived experience right across Limerick.
“Whether for playground facilities for a village, a clubhouse or pitch improvements for a sports club, a vehicle for meals on wheels, for tidy towns works or for co-working spaces enabling remote work, my vision is to use this People and Communities Fund to improve facilities for families across the county.
“The fund will be open annually for applications and will be demand-led. I will spend as much of my budget as possible to enable the people of Limerick complete one-off capital projects. I will use the Mayor's discretionary budget to improve facilities for people and families across the county."
Ms. Ryan continued: "What has struck me as I've met people across the county, from Abbeyfeale to Oola, Caherconlish to Croom, Fedamore, Bruff, Knocklong, Castletroy to Castleconnell, is the variance in quality and availability of facilities for communities.
“Some places are doing really well on sporting facilities for example, while others are significantly behind. In addition to creating this Fund I plan to asset-map the facilities across the city and county in order to identify where the gaps are and where the need is. This will support decision making when it comes to awarding monies from the Fund.
“My focus as Mayor is on improving and equalising public amenities for people across our city and county and supporting the volunteers who give so much of their time to help make Limerick the incredible place it is today for us to live in and raise our families in.
“This money is for the people of Limerick and I want to give it out in a way that will improve peoples’ enjoyment and quality of life. The most valuable thing in our lives are our relationships and our communities and as Mayor I pledge to support people and communities with this new Fund.”
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