Re: Re: well what about the developments popping up in the shannonside ?

The councillor, who during his mayoralty made Limerick’s application for a boundary extension a prime issue, does not shy from pointing out the unpalatable fact that Limerick is now the smallest city in Ireland in terms of land area.

Pointing out that Limerick City Council administers a land area of just 5,155 acres compared to Waterford’s land area of 9,879 acres within its city boundary and 12,383 acres in Galway, Cllr Scully says that with Cork and Dublin larger still, Limerick’s population is now just 52,560. This compares unfavourably with 45,775 for Waterford and 71,983 for Galway.

“Were Limerick to be granted the boundary extension it so sorely needs our population would jump to almost 96,000 at a stroke, thereby restoring our status as the third city in the State and surely it is in the interest of all Limerick people that this should happen,” he said.

While no ruling on City Council’s application for an extension has yet come from the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, and while there is no indication that he will set up an independent commission to examine the issue, many of the same arguments that are being made against the current boundary extension proposal were advanced in opposition to the 1946 application, which was eventually granted in 1950.

“Our 1946 application was fiercely resisted by both Limerick and Clare County Councils but an independent commission was set up in February 1947 to investigate and the result was that a partial extension into Limerick county was granted in January 1950, but none into County Clare,” said Cllr Scully.

He further points out that though Waterford was granted an extension in 1979 and Galway in 1985, it is now 56 years since Limerick’s last extension to its boundary.

“Many of the same arguments that are being made against the current boundary extension proposal were advanced in opposition to the 1946 application and had the application not been granted, city areas such as Singland, Rhebogue, Garryowen, Ballynanty and Ballinacurra would still be in the county” he points out.

“If the 1950 extension had not gone ahead we would not now be worrying about our status as the third city in the state :rolleyes: – we would long ago have been downgraded to a country town,” he said.