Limerick City Council last night adopted a rate of £54.72 in the £, which is an increase of 4.5 per cent on the previous year. The city manager, Mr Con Murray, asked for an increase of 4.75 per cent which would have represented a rate of £54.85 in the £or an increase of £3,168,780 over the 1998 rate. The estimate for running the city for the year in accordance with the manager's estimate is £29,261,305.