THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to support a call from Limerick businesses for the new, amalgamated local authority to set aside €1 million per annum from its rates bill for job creation and economic development in the city.

Limerick chamber president Kieran MacSweeney said that one of the first and immediate initiatives of the new combined local authority, which will come into effect in 2014 with the amalgamation of the existing Limerick city and county councils, should be to set aside 1.5 per cent of all rates collected for economic and enterprise development.

Mr Mac Sweeney made the plea directly to Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton, in his address to the annual Limerick Chamber presidents dinner at the weekend in Limerick.

Mr Bruton was special guest at the event, which doubled as the inaugural Limerick Region Business Awards and was attended by more than 400 people at the Strand Hotel.

In his address Mr MacSweeney said the amalgamation of the local authorities would be a dynamic transition and presented significant opportunities to boost economic recovery in the city and region.

“This is a new, challenging but exciting era of co-operation for us as a city and region. We the chamber, as the voice of the business community, look forward to contributing to what we envisage will be a whole new pro-business model where the economic diversity and development of the region is a core deliverable,” he said.

Mr MacSweeney also called on Government to publish and support the recommendations of the Mid-West Task Force Report.

Medical devices company Cook Medical was announced at the event as the inaugural Limerick Region Overall 2011 Company of the Year Award.