Shannon Airport board member steps down over Limerick mayoral candidacy
John Moran has stepped down from a number of roles at local organisations as he seeks election for Limerick's first directly elected mayor
A CANDIDATE to become Limerick's first directly elected mayor is to step down from his roles with both Shannon Airport and the Limerick Economic Forum.
John Moran, a former secretary general at the Department of Finance, is contesting the maiden election on Friday, June 7, as an Independent candidate.
He says he has stepped down from a number of other roles at local organisations.
Mr Moran, who hails from Mungret, county Limerick, says he feels it's important to lead by example, and show voters "early and emphatically" that should he be elected, his office would not tolerate any conflict of interest.
"In a matter of weeks, Limerick will have the first directly elected mayor in Ireland. We should show the rest of Ireland how this can work, how it will work and how it must work if we are to understand and grasp the opportunities that this historic reform gives us," he said.
"That has to start with visible and strict demarcation and greater transparency in the areas of budget, contracts, lobbying and careful control of who sits on different boards, especially when dealing with organisations contracting with or in receipt of funds from the local authority. As Secretary General of the Department of Finance, I introduced new practices in this area to ensure greater transparency and I shall be doing likewise if elected as mayor," confirmed Mr Moran.
Mr Moran said he has already advised the Minister for Transport and informed the board of Shannon Airport at last week’s board meeting of his decision and has stepped down from his role at the Limerick Economic Forum.
He added also that the integrity of any potential future decision of his to allocate local authority funds, is protected by the fact that he has already stepped away from his board roles with local charities benefiting from support from Limerick council, notably the UL Foundation; Liveable Limerick; Narrative 4 and the Hunt Museum.