Eolas Magazine Limerick Regional Focus

Regional Focus: Limerick City and County Council

REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

R E G I O N A L RFEOGCI U O SN:ALLI M FO EC RU I CSK: LCIIM TY E RAINC D K COUNTY COUNCIL

A focus on innovation If good fortune is, as we are told, what happens when ‘opportunity meets with planning’, then Limerick’s luck would very much appear to be in.

That’s because when benchmarked against international best practice right now, the strategic focus of Limerick would suggest that it is a city region placing its bets in the right place. Limerick is chasing the right opportunities and planning for them.

It is operated by Innovate Limerick, itself created by Limerick City and County Council to help drive innovation and act as the delivery mechanism for many of the projects outlined in the Limerick 2030 plan, the Limerick Regeneration implementation plans and others.

If there was ever to be a litmus test of Limerick’s robustness, it would be Covid and the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yet Limerick has never been better positioned to achieve that burning ambition of reemerging as a national economic powerhouse and crossroads for international investment.

This collaborative network of engine hubs, or the engine ecosystem as it’s called, provides a hybrid working infrastructure for remote workers and business owners, as well as full landing pad services to underpin multinational investment in the region. It’s a network of 15 private and public enterprise spaces that spread beyond Limerick itself, into Clare, Tipperary, and north Kerry with more to be added in the coming years.

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Innovation is at the heart of it all. Limerick is a city region that has always been at the cusp of innovation. As the wheels of industrial revolution changed over the centuries, Limerick moved with them and even sometimes ahead. Today, the momentum is relentless and fast-paced.

This, together with its status as one of the most competitive English-speaking city regions in which to do business in the post-Brexit EU and a city celebrating diversity and inclusion, has turned Limerick into one of Europe’s most progressive and future focused cities.

Its pro-business status, underpinned by its brand proposition Atlantic Edge, European Embrace, is reflected by the location in the region of 120 plus of the world’s leading ICT, life sciences, and financial services companies, but innovation is not just about big business.

It’s about smaller business too and an example of this is Limerick’s engine hubs networks.

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Head of Innovate Limerick Mike Cantwell’s rationale for the engine hubs reaffirms how the city and county is embracing all that’s thrown at it today. “How and where we work is changing and our goal in Innovate Limerick is to facilitate this change,” he says. “Our members realise that there is more to life than a long commute and living somewhere they don’t enjoy. Engine hubs helps people to create a better work-life balance, by providing highquality co-working facilities. We are challenging traditional urban-rural divides and offering flexible work locations in cities, towns, and villages.

“People who wish to work remotely can now access a wide range of quality spaces to work from in the Mid-West through our website enginehubs.ie. This is the first network of its kind in the country. It’s something we are very proud of because it is empowering innovation right across the region.”

REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

Film in Limerick is another of Innovate Limerick's successes, having created an environment through a range of supports that is enabling Limerick to become an even more significant production hub for film and TV. This is through the development of further screen infrastructure, the rollout of new initiatives to nurture locally based talent and a drive to attract more inward film and TV productions to the midwest. In fact, more productions were filmed and produced in the region in 2021 than ever before, including the biggest ever production to be filmed in Ireland, Foundation made at Troy Studios, which employed over 500 crew, and TV dramas Hidden Assets and Smother season one and two.

Last year, when he spoke at the launch the Climate Action Plan, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar TD put his finger on what he felt would be central to the national economy going forward. “We are facing a twin transition to a new economy, a transition that is digital and green. And the countries that will do best are ones that are early movers,” he said.

Limerick and the mid-west are forging ahead in these areas and it’s very much a case of back to the future.

Similarly, on the green side of this pairing, it’s a region with an unrivalled renewables ecosystem, from the Ardnacrusha scheme developed just north of the city almost 100 years ago to the relentless move today towards transforming the Shannon Estuary and Foynes Port into a global floating offshore wind hub. The latter has the capacity to position the region globally; one leading national business figure recently described it as having the potential to become the Texas of renewable energy.

Politically, Limerick is also a leader of change and following an historic plebiscite in 2019, the people of Limerick voted to become the first city region in Ireland to have a directly elected Mayor, a move which will transform local government in Limerick.

For a city that’s had its fair share of challenges over recent decades, there’s a steely determination in Limerick that this is its time.

T: +353 61 556 000 E: customerservices@limerick.ie W: Limerick.ie

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From the earliest days of the digital revolution, when global ICT pioneers such as Wang, Verbatim, and Atari arrived, to today with major investments by the likes of Analog Devices and Dell, Limerick has been synonymous with the

digital sector. More recently, major investment in life sciences by companies like Regeneron, J&J, Stryker, Cook Medical, and Edwards Life Sciences and a recent announcement by Eli Lilly is positioning Limerick as a major life science manufacturing and R&D location.

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REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

Limerick snapshot Following the merger of Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council in 2014, the geographic area of Limerick City and County Council totals 2,755km2. Its urban population centres include Limerick city, Newcastle West, Annacotty, Kilmallock, and Abbeyfeale. After Dublin, Belfast, and Cork, Limerick city is the fourth most populous city in Ireland.

Bordering four other counties – Clare to the north, Tipperary to the east, Cork to the south, and Kerry to the west – a vibrant network of geographically dispersed towns and villages exists in Limerick City and Council area. An open rural area, incorporating 34 non-census settlements, represents 30 per cent of the Limerick City and County population.

Demographics

194,899 population 97,340 males 97,559 females

Average density of Limerick city is 1,600 persons per 1km2 52,818 persons under the age of 19 Average household size of 2.7 Source: CSO, 2016

Marital status 54 per cent single 37 per cent married 4 per cent widowed

Third-level education 26,000 third-level students 14,221 University of Limerick students 6,000 Technological University of the Shannon and Limerick students

5,000 Mary Immaculate College students

Housing

Source: Limerick City and County Council

Limerick City average house price in Q1 2022 €240,655 Limerick County average house price in Q1 2022 €221,098 National average house price in Q1 2022 €299,093 Source: Daft.ie, Irish Rental Report, Q1 2022

Average monthly rent in Limerick City in Q1 2022 €1,485 Average monthly rent in Limerick County in Q1 2022 €1,129 Average national monthly rent in Q1 2022 €1,567 Source: Daft.ie, House Price Report, Q1 2022

House sales throughout 2021 2,459 Residential vacancy rate in December 2021 4.6 per cent 4

Source: Limerick Economic Monitor Q3/Q4 2021, Limerick City and County Council and EY

REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

Connectivity Total number of passengers handled by Shannon Airport in 2019 1,616,422 Total number of passengers handled by Shannon Airport in 2021 322,162 Change in number of passengers handled by Shannon Airport between 2019 and 2021

+80 per cent Top three arrivals and departures for Shannon Airport by route 1.

London, Stansted

2.

London, Gatwick

3.

London, Heathrow

Total air freight handled by Shannon Airport in 2021 15,766 tonnes Source: CSO 2022

Total gross tonnage of vessels arriving at Shannon Foynes Port in 2019 6,223,000 tonnes Total gross tonnage of vessels arriving at Shannon Foynes Port in 2021 6,709,000 tonnes Source: CSO 2022

€24 million investment by the National Transport Authority for active travel projects in 2022 Total premises in Limerick supplied by commercial broadband operators in Q3 2021 77,853 Penetration of broadband in Limerick 78 per cent representing the fourth highest penetration in Ireland Source: Limerick Economic Monitor Q3/Q4 2021, Limerick City and County Council and EY

Economic activity

Pre-Covid employment in Limerick 86,076 workers 23,000 people joined the workforce in the Mid-West Region in 2021 Employment in the Mid-West Region increased by 10.7 per cent in 2021 2,000 new job announcements in 2020 2,337 new job announcements in 2021 Change in number of jobs announced between 2020 and 2021 +16.9 per cent Total investment in Limerick in 2020 €6 million Total investment in Limerick in 2021 €102.7 million Change in total in Limerick between 2020 and 2021 +1,611.7 per cent Source: Limerick Economic Monitor Q3/Q4 2021, Limerick City and County Council and EY

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R E G I O N A L RFEOGCI U O SN:ALLI M FO EC RU I CSK: LCIIM TY E RAINC D K COUNTY COUNCIL

Limerick Twenty Thirty: Providing the tools to compete at the top table An observation by a global executive from a US multinational during a visit to Limerick Twenty Thirty’s Gardens International site recently echoed the standards being set by the development company for the city and mid-west region. which is going to raise the bar even higher. The project across 3.7 acres in the heart of Limerick is not only the biggest single commercial property development of its kind undertaken in the mid-west region but the largest outside the capital, with capacity for up to 3,000 employees across a 450,000 sq ft campus. Critically also, and very much a core principle for LTT, is that it will again deliver to the very highest international standards for sustainability. In the meantime, masterplanning of the 10-acre Cleeves Riverside Quarter site on the north bank of the River Shannon is also underway. In total, the Limerick Twenty Thirty programme will amount to over €500 million in investment and trigger huge social and economic change across Limerick.

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“It’s just like what we have in our best offices in the US,” the visitor remarked as he emerged to see the vista from the fourth floor. “It’s stunning.”

The multi-award-winning commercial development was on the visitors’ itinerary as a showcase for the high standards of office space now being delivered in Limerick and the good news is that it’s only getting better.

Just a few hundred metres away, from the 112,000 square foot development, Limerick Twenty Thirty (LTT) has commenced work on the Opera Square site, 6

Importantly, too, since the establishment of LTT, significant private developer confidence and investment has returned to Limerick, the collective impact will be a city transformed from street scape to skyline. If one of Limerick’s key goals is to become a city competing on an international scale, then LTT is giving it tools to do so.

In the wider rebirth of the economic, social, and physical landscape of Limerick, LTT is emerging as a key architect, and if the best form of flattery is imitation, then the project is getting plenty of admiring eyes as other urban areas are now borrowing from the LTT playbook by establishing similar projects.

REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

LTT is a designated activity company (DAC) that was established as a special purpose vehicle by Limerick City and County Council to build out disused sites in the city. These are not any city centre sites but highpotential locations that, if maximised, could become economic growth engines for an entire region.

The first such commercial property company to be established by a local authority in Ireland, it was a bold – if not eyebrow-raising – move but the type of courage that was clearly needed at a particularly challenging time for the city and region.

“We were established when developer interest had more or less left Limerick. It was a really difficult time.

The city and region were disproportionately impacted in the crash. Not alone did it have the same economic implosion other cities had to deal with but for Limerick it was much more severe because of the loss of thousands of industrial jobs in the city during that period,” says David Conway, Chief Executive of LTT. “Looking back, a key element of the response was that the local authority did some very smart strategic planning with ‘Limerick 2030 Economic and Social Plan for Limerick’, which has been a brilliant blueprint for the rebirth of the city. Stakeholders got behind the plan together because they really cared about the city and region and finally could see a vision for it. It was almost a case of starting from scratch and when you’re doing that, you have to plan. When you plan, you need to be visionary and ambitious and Limerick Twenty Thirty came out of that.”

The early, formative years were the slowest; getting set-up, building the team and taking the Gardens International project, in an 18-month programme, from a half-built discarded relic of the so-called boom to the showcase it now is, a project that swept the boards of national architecture awards following its completion to fit-out stage in 2019.

In the meantime, LTT has been working on getting planning for the first round of the Mungret Park housing development, with permission granted for the

Limerick has a vision to be recognised not just nationally but internationally as an exemplar for delivering the most innovative region, reinventing itself as a vibrant modern and dynamic place to live, learn, work, and grow up in. That’s high ambition.

Limerick is an ambitious place today and Limerick Twenty Thirty has a plan to match that ambition.

“We’re delivering a fantastic finished product. We’ve seen that with Gardens and there’s even better to come.

These are developments for the future. They’ll be future proofed with leading international sustainability standards, they will be designed and finished to the very best standards. That’s what’s needed if you want to attract major global investment to your city and Limerick Twenty Thirty is really advancing that cause,” Conway concludes.

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Since then, the primary focus has been the Opera Square project, which, after a lengthy planning process, received planning permission in early 2020, not long before Covid arrived on our shores. Despite the shutdowns, the project got underway last year with a year-long demolition and enabling works programme with a very strong reuse emphasis – again evidence of the sustainability focus – last year and construction is set to commence over the coming months.

initial 252-unit first phase of the wider programme, as well as the master-planning for Cleeves, which will be another game-changing project for the city and region.

W: www.limerick2030.ie

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REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

Limerick’s infrastructure: Road, rail, and ports

The renewed National Development Plan (NDP) set out a series of significant infrastructure priorities out to 2030.

In October 2021, the Government launched the renewed National Development Plan to 2030, a planned €165 billion investment, recognised as the largest in the State’s history. Outlining a focus on priority solutions to target challenges in housing, healthcare, and the climate; the plan also seeks to secure job growth in every region and deliver economic renewal for the decade ahead.

Although many of the initiatives aimed at Limerick are retained from the previous iteration of the plan, a review of priority projects has seen changes to those initial ambitions, as well as fresh impetus on other projects of note.

An outline of significant NDP projects affecting Limerick include:

Roads N/M20 Initially touted as a potential motorway between the State’s second and third largest cities, Cork and

being shaped through consultation. Rather than a motorway, most recent plans suggest 80km of new and improved dual carriageway road between Cork city and Patrickswell that will provide bypasses of Mallow, Buttevant, and Charleville, with an estimated cost of between €1 and 1.5 billion.

Limerick, the N/M20 Cork has been a long-standing proposal to better connect the two cities by

Other proposed national road projects, which were

improving the transport network and improving

part of the previous NDP and are now subject to

safety above the existing N20 route.

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further approvals include: The N21/N69 Limerick to

The renewed NDP has marked the project as

Foynes road (Adare bypass); the N21 Newcastle

“subject to further approvals”, with the project still

West Bypass and the N21 Abbeyfeale Bypass.

REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

Ports

announced its intention to invest €28 million in new infrastructure as part of a plan to turn the Shannon Estuary into an

The N21/N69 Limerick to Foynes road

international hub for floating offshore

(Adare bypass) in particular is featured as

wind generation.

part of a commitment to improve access to the Port of Foynes. A jetty expansion

Alongside plans to expand jetty

program at Shannon Foynes Port was

infrastructure, the project is set to include

outlined for completion this year, however,

the development of one of the country’s

in March 2022, Shannon Foynes Port

largest logistics buildings.

Rail

The strategy proposed the examination of a dual track between Limerick Colbert and Limerick Junction stations, alongside:

Funding over the 10 years is set to support the further development of commuter rail in both Limerick and Galway, including the development of a new Limerick commuter rail network, including new stations on each of the historical rail lines.

The revised draft Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (LSMATS) was published in April 2022, launching a second round of public consultation for LSMATS, having originally been consulted on in 2020.

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a new rail station at Moyross as demand for travel increases in line with the regeneration of this area;

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a new rail station at Ballysimon, including park and ride;

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complete the redevelopment of Colbert rail and bus station; and

•

an investigation into the potential for rail freight in support of the proposed Regional Freight Strategy, including the

reinstatement of the line between Limerick and the Port of Foynes.

Outside of rail, the LSMATS also boasts a new vision for transport in the area, including a greater focus on sustainable land use planning and specific transport measures to support Limerick regeneration.

Included in the suggestions is a 184km cycling network linking all major origins and destinations within the area and an inter-urban network connecting Limerick city and metropolitan town centres and a detailed BusConnects proposal.

Flood relief The NDP committed to €1 billion in flood risk management, including funding through the OPW for the Limerick City and Environs Flood Relief Scheme. Limerick City and County Council commissioned the scheme in May 2021, with ground investigation works commencing in April 2022 and expected to last until September 2022. Construction of the project is not expected to start until 2026, with handover expected in 2031.

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R E G I O N A L RFEOGCI U O SN:ALLI M FO EC RU I CSK: LCIIM TY E RAINC D K COUNTY COUNCIL

Limerick 2030: Planning for the future In the decades ahead, as we continue to advance our mission to become not just Ireland’s but one of Europe’s most exciting sustainable living environments, the past decade will very much be seen as the period when the seeds for the future harvest were sown, writes Pat Daly, Chief Executive of Limerick City and County Council. when we launched our vision and strategy, ‘Limerick 2030: An Economic and Spatial Plan for Limerick’.

It was a once in a generation plan – the first of its kind in the country - developed to guide the economic, social, and physical renaissance of Limerick city centre and the wider county/mid-west region.

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It was published with a top-line target of €1 billion in enterprise and investment infrastructure and 12,000 new jobs. Such has been the success of the plan that these targets were already surpassed five years into the plan and the trajectory since has continued upwards. Employment levels in the region were at 191,000 in March 2012 and had reached 238,000 by the end of Q3 last year, with nearly 23,000 people joining the workforce during 2021.

If, as the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, then you could argue, based on the key barometer of economic growth, Limerick is half-way there already. Yet in Limerick today, we believe our journey is only just beginning.

Nevertheless, the past decade or so has been about planting the seed, about planning for the future. For Limerick, that happened just short of 10 years ago 10

Job announcements have been coming thick and fast over the past six months; 130 R&D jobs by med-tech giant BD; Legato Health Technologies announcing 200; Indigo Telecom Group pitching in with 100, Vitalograph with 200 in Limerick and Ennis and Eli Lilly giving the dream start to 2022 with 300 jobs for a €400 million new manufacturing facility. These are on top of ongoing investments by the likes of J&J, Regeneron, and Analog Devices. Job creation has not only been confined to the larger firms; local enterprise office clients have created a net total of 179 jobs in 2021.

REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

The momentum is strong, but our focus is on keeping it maintained, and while strategic planning has been essential, so too has collaboration. For sure there have been challenges along the way, differences of opinion, but there is a stakeholder collective in Limerick today that is underpinning its success; key players with the common Limerick and regional interest working hand in glove in making sure we get there.

For example, we now have at the table two universities, UL and TUS, as well as Mary Immaculate College, which have a collective student population of over 35,000 – critical in terms of graduate supply to support economic growth. Extend the catchment to a 90-minute radius of Limerick and student numbers reach over 100,000. We’re also working closely with Shannon Airport, which – uniquely apart from Dublin – gives our region direct connectivity to all three key global markets, the UK, Europe, and the US.

Green is, indeed, synonymous with Limerick from a sporting perspective on a national scale but is very much going to be our international calling card as well, with Limerick and the Shannon Estuary set to become the supply-chain hub for the global-scale floating offshore wind industry revolution off the west coast, largely thanks to the efforts of Shannon Foynes Port Company and other key stakeholders.

These initiatives will place Limerick at a critical intersection globally, where the best nations and regions will lead in the fight against climate change, in ridding future generations of the environmental and social uncertainty that this and previous ones have created.

Ultimately, that’s where we want to be. A city region at the edge of innovation, embracing inclusivity and a champion of sustainability.

T: +353 61 556000 E: customerservices@limerick.ie W: Limerick.ie

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The plan has spawned catalytic initiatives like the Limerick Twenty Thirty designated activity company (DAC), a special purpose vehicle created by Limerick City and County Council to act as a de facto public interest developer, at a time when they were thin on the ground, to build out disused sites in the city and stimulate economic growth. There’s also the €9 million investment in the O’Connell Street revitalisation plan and €116 million of URDF Grant Funding recently secured from Government, which is set to transform our city centre. The Opera Project is now well under way to redevelop a key city centre site of 1.62 hectares providing much needed new commercial office space for new jobs in our city centre, with loan finance secured from the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank.

Limerick was also the first city in Ireland to develop its own Digital Strategy. Its green credentials are such that it is one of only two lighthouse cities, selected for a major climate change programme focused on dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of urban areas. From a lifestyle perspective, the Discover Limerick DAC was born from the plan, Limerick has become a festival city through arts and social programmes and the biggest of all awaits in five years’ time when the Ryder Cup is staged at the prestigious Adare Manor. We’ve also seen initiatives like the Limerick Greenway developed. The list goes on.

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REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

Tourism in Limerick Limerick is in the penultimate year of its Limerick Tourism Development Strategy, developed by Limerick City and County Council. The 2019-2023 strategy envisages 1.1 million visitors to Limerick per annum, generating €360 million in revenue and creating 1,500 new jobs by 2023.

King John’s Castle.

Adare Heritage Centre and Castle Desmond.

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The framework for tourism in the Treaty City and County, which follows on from the success of Limerick’s reign as European City of Sport in 2011 and National City of Culture in 2014, is based around four areas that will “provide a solid foundation in terms of the attributes and assets of the destination on which to build”: waterways; activities; heritage; and arts and culture.

The objectives within the plan are broken down into four targets for the Council: ensuring that Limerick is “internationally and nationally recognised as a highly appealing tourism destination with a strong reputation for the quality of its water-based activity, arts and culture, and heritage attractions”; to ensure a “coordinated approach to tourism and to galvanise the enthusiasm of key actors”; to support growth

in the local tourism sector; and to present a “delivery mechanism for national policies, objectives, and targets that offer the greatest potential for growing the tourism sector” in Limerick.

On a county level, Limerick generated revenue of over €307 million from tourism in 2017, with almost 931,000 visitors; from this starting point, the Council has set targets of reaching over 793,000 overseas visitors, generating €313.2 million of revenue, and 379,706 visits from Irish residents, generating €47.4 million in revenue, in 2023. With 205,000 jobs supported by the sector in 2017, the strategy aims to add 1,500 new jobs by 2023.

The unforeseen Covid-19 pandemic does of course caveat performance in this sector, but Limerick City and

REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

County Council has shown support for the sector’s recovery, with the Council’s 2022 approved budget including a Tourism Support Scheme 2022, support for tourism infrastructure projects under community development funding streams, and an estimated overall outturn of €2,233,757 for the year on tourism development and promotion.

Waterways Limerick city’s position at the point where the River Shannon meets the sea and the multiple canals and rivers throughout the county such as the rivers Abbey, Feale, Aherlow, Mulcair, and Maigue mean that both county and city are well placed to benefit from recent upsurges in water sport-based tourism. Actions in this area mentioned in the plan include the development of a blueways masterplan setting in place a framework for prioritisation of infrastructural upgrades, working with tourism providers to develop itineraries on water, and exploring the possibility of hosting events such as the Tall Ships festival.

Included in the adopted 2022 budget for the Council is a River Shannon accessibility study, set for publication in Q2 2022, which will reflect Council work in tandem with Waterways Ireland to maximise accessibility to the river. Work on Lough Gur, a popular site for water sports such as kayaking and canoeing, will also continue through 2022, enhancing existing facilities on the site.

Activities Actions included in the action plan under the activities heading include the completion of the Great Southern Greenway Limerick section and the development of Limerick as a venue for adventure sport tourism. The Council also pledges to explore the scope for sporting institutions such as the GAA and traditionally tourist friendly sports such as golf to contribute in this regard.

Most notable in the 2022 budget in this area are the commitments to building out the Limerick Greenway. 40km of upgrading

and resurfacing work were complete on the greenway in 2021, 37km from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale, and the remaining 3km to the Kerry border afterwards. Planning permission for an 80-space carpark for the Limerick Greenway Hub in Newcastle West has been obtained and station houses along the greenway have been purchased with the intention of using them as hubs. Works on seven underpasses and two overpasses are also expected to commence in Q3 2022.

Heritage As one of Ireland’s counties with the most visible remnants of its history still intact – from King John’s Castle and St Mary’s Cathedral in the city to the medieval strongholds of Abbeyfeale, Newcastle West, Rathkeale and Adare, to Castle Desmond in Askeaton – the Council plans celebrate and showcase its heritage through “dynamic” use of existing venues and improving the visitor experience to existing centres and museums, as well as considering the feasibility of an Historic Quarter in the city.

During 2021, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, through the Council, allocated a total of €414,329 to heritage works and research projects in Limerick through the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (€141,600), the Historic Structures Fund (€135,429), and the Community Monuments Fund (€137,300).

Arts and culture Actions included in the action plan to develop the arts and culture offering of Limerick include the advancement of proposals for a multi-purpose events centre in Limerick city, reviews of existing council-owned infrastructure such as Adare Heritage Centre, and the stimulation of cultural activity in public spaces through utilisations of pop-ups.

Limerick is currently operating under its Limerick Festivals and Events Strategy 2020-2030 and 2021 saw a total of €211,000 invested by the Council under its Festivals and Events Grant Scheme 2021/22, with 28 applicants approved for funding from a pool of 40 applicants asking for a total of €649,221.45.

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REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

Mid-West Regional Enterprise Plan: A connected jobs strategy for Limerick A connected jobs strategy, targeting Limerick’s unemployment blackspots, will form part of wider plans to develop social enterprises and job creation initiatives for areas of high unemployment in the mid-west.

Launched by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in February 2022, the Mid-West Regional Enterprise Plan to 2024 includes tackling areas of high unemployment as one of its five strategic objectives, alongside: digitalisation and innovation; sustainability; enterprise in regional towns and rural areas; and supporting SME, start-ups, and microbusinesses.

Limerick city contains eight of the top 10 nationally identified high unemployment blackspots. The 2016 Census identified 23 electoral areas within the mid-west, where unemployment levels were greater than 27 per cent, 17 of which were in Limerick city.

As part of the Government’s wider €180 million plan to support and boost enterprise, skills, and employment in the region through the Mid-West Regional Enterprise Plan, a proposed connected jobs strategy for Limerick’s unemployment blackspots is aimed at establishing dedicated supports to build on existing initiatives and “ensure a connected approach is being taken to reduce unemployment”.

Five pillars, required to operate in parallel, will make up the connected approach: Firstly, engagement with local communities to develop solutions to long-term unemployment will be required, recognising that each community faces different challenges, and some will require support to establish strong community groups, with an employment focus.

Secondly, a ‘pathway to employment’ is to be developed to support those seeking employment, with a focus on regeneration areas. Already established in the north side of the city, current roll out to the south side will target industries where opportunities exist, identifying employment opportunities and providing skills training. The Government says that industry-led traineeships and/or apprenticeship type models will also be utilised.

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Thirdly, recognising staff shortages in key industries such as

hospitality and construction, the strategy identifies not only an opportunity for the unemployed to join the workforce but also for employers to contribute positively to their community. A connected jobs strategy aims “to develop linkages whereby local employers can better connect with long-term unemployed or unemployed youth from some of the region’s unemployment blackspots to understand the challenges faced, develop suitable job opportunities, and work together with employees and local supports to ensure the best chance of success”.

Fourthly, in recognising the importance of mentoring and support, the strategy says that mentor supports will be initiated from the pre-employment stage onwards, a structure that is considered vital to bring the most difficult to reach participants “to the employment baseline”.

Finally, the strategy will assess the physical infrastructure requirements to support the existing strengths and preferred jobs for regeneration areas, bringing forward future funding submissions.

Earmarked for completion by Q4 2024, the delivery of a connected job strategy within the wider Mid-West Regional Enterprise Plan is to be led by Limerick City and County Council.

Outside of the connected job strategy, the wider objective to develop social enterprises and job creation initiatives for areas of high unemployment, the Mid-West Regional Enterprise Plan also aims to build on the region’s status as a national leader in the development and delivery of social enterprise support.

Additionally, they plan sets out ambitions to establish a multifunctional Creative and Innovative Industries Centre of scale at Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP).

Expected to create 200 jobs over five years, with a target of 20 per cent from the local regeneration area, the plan says the project “will enhance the vision for the mid-west region to be recognised as the most equipped region in Europe for complete film production facilities”.

REGIONAL FOCUS: LIMERICK CITY AND COUNTY COUNCIL

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