RIVAL candidates in the mayoral election have called out a move by John Moran to not appear on the panel of a televised debate.
Independent candidate Mr Moran has declared he will not be a panelist on Upfront with Katie Hannon which will broadcast live from the Limetree Theatre on Monday night.
It comes after the State broadcaster initially announced it would only have eight mayoral candidates on stage - with others, including Mr Moran speaking for just 60 seconds.
However in a change announced this Thursday,RTÉ said it had invited all 15 participants to take part, and will split the panel in two to accommodate this.
Despite this, Mr Moran - who described the event as a "charade" - is maintaining that he will not appear on stage.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he claimed that it was his statement, released on Wednesday, criticising the broadcaster, which sparked the U-turn.
"Too little too late. This is just not the way public interest broadcasting should work. The debate process is already fundamentally flawed," he added.
However, Fianna Fail's Dee Ryan and Cllr Daniel Butler of Fine Gael have called out Mr Moran on the social network.
"Minor setbacks like decisions not going your way are part of the working life of a mayor. I note a more mature response from
@HelenDEM2024," Ms Ryan wrote, in reference to Helen O'Donnell who welcomed the chance to speak for a minute on national television.
Minor setbacks like decisions not going your way are part of the working life of a Mayor. I note a more mature response from @HelenDEM2024 https://t.co/8wig7wFuu4
— Dee Ryan Dee4Mayor (@deecorbettryan) May 23, 2024
Cllr Butler shared a gif which showed a man having a tantrum with the caption: "wah". He wrote: "Someone's having a bad on X". He subsequently deleted it.
Earlier in the day, he also took aim at Mr Moran, writing: "When your competition is talking about you, you know you are doing something right. Very happy to debate@moranjohna1on the delivery of housing. Since 2014, I've helped to deliver many homes across Limerick. Remind me John, how many did you deliver as chair of the LDA?"
When your competition is talking about you, you know you are doing something right. Very happy to debate @moranjohna1 on the delivery of housing. Since 2014, I've helped to deliver many homes across Limerick. Remind me John, how many did you deliver as Chair of the LDA?
The LDA refers to the Land Development Agency, which is tasked with fast-tracking the delivery of houses on State-owned land.
Another mayoral candidate Brian Leddin of the Green Party had issued a statement supporting Mr Moran's inclusion.
"We're electing an executive rather than a ceremonial Mayor. RTÉ criteria for participation should be revised," he stated in a post on X.
Prior to their change of tack on the participation in the debate, the producers of Upfront with Katie Hannon, pointed to criteria approved by its election steering group governing the selection of candidates, which would have meant just eight candidates would have gone on stage.
The others would have had 60 seconds to make a contribution.
However RTÉ said this Thursday: "Following the declaration last weekend of the final list of candidates for the Limerick mayoral election, the RTÉ election steering group has been reviewing the format of the television debate on Upfront with Katie Hannon.Taking account of the unique and historical nature of this election, the fact there are just 15 declared candidates, and the flexibility for wider participation the theatre venue provides, additional broadcast time has been allocated for a specially extended programme."
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Mr Moran said he would elect to take the initial 60-second slot he was offered byRTÉ - however, following the broadcaster's change of tack, it's unclear if this will be offered.
"Limerick has become used to being ignored up in Dublin. If nothing else, this sorry saga shows better than anything why having a strong independent mayor who can put Limerick first is so critical," he added.
Mr Moran said: "I believe the outpouring of anger from Limerick about the exclusion of new independent candidates, including the two leading ones has shown that the voters of Limerick already know that they want real change. The support I have received in particular comforts me that even without this debate they also have identified the type of experience and credentials they want to see in their mayor. They understand better than RTÉ who is needed to deliver on that change for Limerick against a Dublin dominated party system which has failed us for decades here on Shannonside."
Despite this, he said he has been invited to participate in a "more inclusionary" mayoral discussion on the national broadcaster's Late Debate radio show, alongside Limerick's Live95FM.
Upfront with Katie Hannon airs this coming Monday night from 10.35pm on RTÉ One and RTE Player.
