A little late in the day to complain about disenfranchisement

A sizeable portion of the Moyross housing estate in Limerick is located in Limerick County Council territory. This area could now be a part of the city as early as next week when, as recommended by the Fitzgerald Report on regeneration and tackling social exclusion in Limerick.

However, twenty years after the estate was built, it is only now that politicians are talking about the poor Moyross constituents being left without public representation after the transfer from Limerick County Council to Limerick City Council.

At the moment, Moyross is located in the Bruff electoral area of Limerick County Council. But when it transfers to the city, it will be in Electoral Ward 1. Because the next local election is not due to take place until 2009, some 7,000 people will be represented on the city council by people they did not elect.

Politicians such as Michael Noonan have called on the Minister for the Environment to delay the transfer until the local elections have been called.

But it is a bit late in the day to be worrying about lack of representation for Moyross now isn’t it.

During the time of it’s existence, it has been neglected by Limerick County Council. The houses in the estate are “maintained” by Limerick City Council, and this has always been the case.

A survey carried out in the estate in May of 2006 showed that over 90 percent of the residents in these estates did not even know which electoral area they were in, and a similar amount indicated a preference to be run by the City Council. It shows how well represented these people were for the past few decades, doesn’t it. So why is Noonan so concerned about it now?