Mayor unapologetic over proposed €100,000 housing PR campaign

QUESTIONS were raised at the recent full meeting of Limerick Council around the Mayor’s rationale for a request for tender seeking...

QUESTIONS were raised at the recent full meeting of Limerick Council around the Mayor’s rationale for a request for tender seeking a communications advisory service to deliver a €100,000 integrated public relations campaign for housing.

Mayor John Moran told the meeting that the local authority needs to be transparent with the public regarding housing delivery in Limerick, including where the city currently stands, the factors that have contributed to the present position, and the measures being implemented to improve housing delivery outcomes.

Mayor Moran pointed out that in 2023, 788 homes were delivered in Limerick against an identified requirement of 2,599 homes. In 2022, 672 homes were delivered. Addressing both existing unmet demand and future housing need, he insisted, will require a significant increase in annual housing delivery, with output needing to rise to around 4,000 homes per year to achieve a normally functioning housing market in Limerick.

“Achieving Limerick’s housing ambitions across all tenures will require sustained capital investment of approximately €1.6billion per annum. Over the lifetime of the housing strategy, the total investment requirement is expected to be in the region of €20billion,” Mayor Moran explained.

“Achieving this level of delivery will depend on maintaining public confidence, securing investor engagement, and fostering strong partnerships across the public and private sectors. Clear, professional, and transparent communication is an important component of this effort.

“The proposed communications activity should therefore be viewed as a strategic intervention intended to address an identified weakness and support the delivery of Limerick’s housing objectives. In the context of an investment requirement of approximately €20billion, the communications expenditure is proportionate. Even if it contributed to securing only €1billion of the investment required, an expenditure of €100,000 would represent a substantial return.”

According to Limerick’s executive mayor, there should be no apology for communicating and promoting a programme of this scale and importance.

Any organisation seeking significant investment in a product or service, he said, would expect to invest in communicating its plans to the market and the public.

“A motor company seeking to sell vehicles would advertise them; similarly, a local authority seeking to attract investment, build confidence, and deliver thousands of homes must communicate clearly and professionally. A number of local authorities with strong housing delivery records, including Fingal County Council and Dublin City Council, have invested in dedicated communications campaigns to support their housing programmes. These initiatives help inform the public, build stakeholder confidence, and increase awareness of housing delivery objectives and progress,” he concluded.