{"id":280581,"date":"2026-01-12T08:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T08:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/280581\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T08:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T08:39:08","slug":"tensions-emerge-between-limerick-mayor-john-moran-and-council-director-general-pat-daly-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/280581\/","title":{"rendered":"Tensions emerge between Limerick mayor John Moran and council director general Pat Daly \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The cancellation of a planned Christmas market exposed significant tensions at the top of Limerick City and County Council<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Issues relating to staffing are at the heart of disputes that have arisen during the experiment in local democracy that sees Limerick<\/a> as the only place in Ireland with a directly elected mayor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Correspondence between Mayor John Moran<\/a> and the Limerick council\u2019s director general Pat Daly<\/a>, released under the Freedom of Information Act, shows disagreement between the pair and \u201cserious concerns\u201d expressed by a trade union.<\/p>\n

Moran, a former Department of Finance secretary general turned independent politician, was elected in 2024 as the first holder of the new office.<\/p>\n

Proposing the council\u2019s budget each year is the key power of the mayor. He has a wide-ranging mayoral programme on issues from housing to amenities.<\/p>\n

While the mayor\u2019s office has a small complement of four staff and a special adviser, he needs to harness the wider local authority staff resources to deliver on various policy ambitions. However, Limerick council\u2019s website lists \u201chuman resources (HR) and local authority staffing matters\u201d in an overview of the director general\u2019s functions. Differing interpretations of the role of the mayor in this area has led to tension.<\/p>\n

Last March Moran included a Christmas market among plans for his annual mayoral fund. He sought an integrated plan for various Christmas events from council officials.<\/p>\n

Moran cancelled the market last autumn, telling the Limerick Leader the proposals \u201cwere developed late\u201d and he \u201cwasn\u2019t happy it was going to be a success\u201d. \u201cIt\u2019s public money, so we decided we would push it off until next year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In a controversial Live 95 radio interview on October 22nd, Moran suggested 2024 Christmas events in Limerick were \u201cnot up to the standard\u201d of places like Waterford and Galway.<\/p>\n

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More broadly Moran said: \u201cWe have to do better\u201d, that staff \u201chave been delivering at full speed\u201d, but \u201cthere\u2019s no strategic HR\u201d and \u201cno transformational team\u201d in the local authority.<\/p>\n

He said the Limerick council was \u201cgoing through one of the most fundamental transformations in local government\u201d. \u201cBut I can\u2019t make that happen, because that is ultimately going to be the choice of the director general as to what resources and how he allocates resources,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A council statement last week said it \u201chas long had a strong, strategic approach to HR and organisational development\u201d.<\/p>\n

It cited the complex 2014 amalgamation of the previously separate city and county councils as an example of how it is \u201cno stranger to transformational change\u201d. The workforce and management is \u201cmore than capable of navigating major change\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n

In October Daly took exception to Moran\u2019s radio comments. He emailed all council staff on October 23rd, saying: \u201cI fully understand and share the sense of disappointment that some of the remarks have caused.\u201d He advised staff to focus \u201con what we do best, that is serving our community with professionalism\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"PatPat Daly, chief executive of Limerick City and County Council, took exception to comments the mayor made on local radio <\/p>\n

Moran later emailed all staff saying he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by Daly\u2019s email. He wrote that \u201cthere are two sides to every debate\u201d and \u201cwhat is not in debate is that I hold the staff and management of the council in the highest regard\u201d.<\/p>\n

He thanked the \u201cmany\u201d staff who welcomed his comments and understood his message, saying his main point was that \u201cthe people of Limerick deserve even more from us when it comes to delivering results\u201d.<\/p>\n

Moran said his view is that the council \u201chas still not transformed itself into an organisation capable of maximising the opportunity\u201d of having Ireland\u2019s first directly elected mayor. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not an effort to ascribe blame,\u201d he said. \u201cWith new help we would work out the answers to some key questions. Starting with: who is responsible for what?\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the recent addition of a project management team from consultancy firm Grant Thornton would help improve delivery of the mayoral programme.<\/p>\n

Councillors passed a motion of confidence in Daly on October 28th during a stormy meeting when Moran defended his position while sustaining criticism from elected representatives.<\/p>\n

\"MayorMayor of Limerick John Moran and director general of Limerick City and County Council Dr Pat Daly at a local authority meeting.
\nPhotograph: Don Moloney <\/p>\n

On October 31st the F\u00f3rsa<\/a> union, which represents 500 Limerick City and County Council workers, wrote to Daly saying the content of Moran\u2019s email to staff raised \u201cserious concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n

These include a claim that the mayor, in expressing disappointment at an internal management communication, \u201crisks undermining the authority of the council\u2019s executive and creating confusion around lines of accountability\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another F\u00f3rsa concern was commentary in Moran\u2019s email that it viewed as concerning \u201coperational matters\u201d, including \u201cstaffing structures\u201d that fall \u201cwithin the remit of the director general\u201d.<\/p>\n

F\u00f3rsa said \u201cany encroachment by consultants into the core work of our members, any attempt to give direction to [council] staff, or any involvement in operational decision-making will be regarded as a serious industrial relations matter\u201d.<\/p>\n

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A statement from Moran last month said there were \u201cvery clear\u201d arrangements under which the consultants were hired. They were to aid him in his mayoral programme delivery and \u201cnot give directions or make operational decisions\u201d.<\/p>\n

Daly sent F\u00f3rsa\u2019s letter to Moran on November 3rd, flagging it for discussion with him at a meeting the following day.<\/p>\n

Earlier on November 3rd, Moran sent another email to staff on the council budget process, mentioning a possible deficit of \u20ac8.8 million. The council later passed a balanced budget with the help of measures including a commercial rates increase.<\/p>\n

Moran said the only way to make difficult decisions was \u201ctogether and with as much of the right information as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n

He was spending time with council directors to understand \u201cthe value you all contribute to Limerick and what is the \u2018cost\u2019 of that in terms of full-time staff numbers\u201d. Moran said he would make sure the directors \u201chave all the time they need to explain the value of their own team\u2019s contribution\u201d and \u201cidentify any savings that could be made\u201d.<\/p>\n

F\u00f3rsa wrote to Daly on November 3rd saying the mayor\u2019s message was \u201cgenerating anxiety among staff, who interpret these remarks as an indication of potential workforce reductions\u201d and requested a meeting \u201cwith HR and relevant senior management\u201d.<\/p>\n

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F\u00f3rsa confirmed it met Daly on November 11th and said last week \u201cthere is no industrial action under way\u201d in the council, \u201cnor is there any planned\u201d.<\/p>\n

Moran provided a statement to The Irish Times last month. On F\u00f3rsa\u2019s suggestion that he had risked creating confusion around council lines of accountability, the mayor\u2019s statement said any confusion \u201cmay arise from confusion in some quarters\u201d about the \u201ccorrect interpretation\u201d of amendments to the Local Government Act 2001. <\/p>\n

These amendments from 2024 relate to the office of the directly elected mayor.<\/p>\n

Moran\u2019s statement referred to sections in the legislation suggesting the mayor shall be responsible for \u201cthe efficient and effective operation\u201d of the local authority and \u201cfor that purpose carry on and manage and control generally the administration and business of the authority\u201d.<\/p>\n

His statement characterised Daly\u2019s view as being that \u201conly the [director general] has responsibility for all operational issues\u201d.<\/p>\n

The statement added: \u201cDo F\u00f3rsa recognise that the mayor by virtue of these provisions is very much part of what they term the \u2018council\u2019s management team\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

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A F\u00f3rsa statement said its \u201cconcerns related specifically to staffing matters. These were raised through the appropriate channels\u201d.<\/p>\n

In relation to the council\u2019s website listing staffing matters among Daly\u2019s functions, Moran\u2019s statement said: \u201cIt is important to read the actual detailed statutory framework under which all functions are transferred to the mayor unless retained by the [director general] …<\/p>\n

\u201cTo analyse this accurately, it cannot be sufficient to rely on summaries of complex rules when deciding the division of functionality.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement added that this had been \u201cmuch discussed\u201d between the mayor and the director general. It said the mayor had requested legal advice to confirm whose interpretations were accurate.<\/p>\n

On F\u00f3rsa\u2019s suggestion that Moran\u2019s November 3rd email to staff caused \u201canxiety\u201d among employees, his statement said: \u201cIt is the function of the mayor alone to propose a balanced budget.\u201d In doing this, the mayor \u201cmust take account of the demands on the organisation for service delivery and the setting of priorities\u201d in a way that aligns with the priorities of Limerick people and be acceptable to the full council, whose members must approve it.<\/p>\n

Moran\u2019s view is that this requires a \u201cfull interrogation of matters in considerable detail especially in an environment of constrained financial resources\u201d. <\/p>\n

The statement said Moran is of the view, and has said publicly, that the council needs further financial and human resources to fulfil its mandate.<\/p>\n

It also said: \u201cA change as fundamental as that which Limerick is going through is most certainly going to need considerable change in past practices and often change can be hard for some.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is especially so where, as appears abundantly clear, the legislation did not itself give … clear guidance as to how it was to be interpreted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moran added: \u201cOne thing is clear, the people of Limerick voted for change and the introduction of the model is already providing great visible results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Limerick City and County Council\u2019s statement agreed on this last point, praising council teams \u201cout every day making those actions happen\u201d. It also said: \u201cChange can indeed be challenging, but [the council\u2019s] staff have a proven history of adapting, innovating, and raising standards\u201d. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The cancellation of a planned Christmas market exposed significant tensions at the top of Limerick City and County…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,13265,6,19,17,15600,11,12,1844,9213,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-280581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-forsa","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-john-moran","18":"tag-latest-news","19":"tag-latestnews","20":"tag-limerick","21":"tag-limerick-city-and-county-council","22":"tag-main-news","23":"tag-mainnews","24":"tag-news","25":"tag-top-stories","26":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115881231213594811","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}