Slow start to campaign for directly-elected Dublin mayor

The organisers of a special round-table discussion on a directly-elected mayor for Dublin have said they were not disappointed at the relatively small turnout.

A total of 16 elected representatives out of over 200 councillors, Senators and TDs in the greater Dublin area attended the meeting in the Mansion House on Monday, organised by Lord Mayor Brendan Carr and his Labour Party colleague Senator Kevin Humphreys.

While Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, Labour, the Greens and Independents were represented, there were no representatives from Fine Gael.

Mr Humphreys struck an optimistic note, saying it represented a small but good start. It was only the first step in what will be a very involved process over the next few years.

“By and large, it was a good turnout given that it was a Monday, which is a work day for many councillors, and the short notice. I’m not really sure at this moment of time what the stance of Fine Gael is in relation to a directly-elected mayor. The process is started, which is important. We are going to try and keep it outside party politics and look for cross-party agreement.”

The latest initiative has come after an earlier attempt in 2014 to establish a new position of directly-elected mayor. That effort failed after councillors in Fingal rejected the plan.

New proposals

A number of parties, principally Fianna Fáil, Labour and the Green Party, have come forward with new proposals, which would include a plebiscite of all Dublin citizens. A Fianna Fáil Bill proposing that process is due to come before the Dáil in this session.

More recently, Mr Humphreys commissioned an opinion poll with polling company Ireland Thinks, which found that three out of four adults in the capital were in favour of the idea. The idea was particularly popular with those between 18 and 24, almost 100 per cent of whom backed the proposal.

Micheál Mac Donncha of Sinn Féin, who also attended the discussion, said the powers of of local authorities would also need to be expanded. “It’s not good enough to have a directly-elected mayor elected under the current system and under current powers,” he said.

He also pointed out that new legislation would be required to give effect to any decision.

The need for a directly-elected mayor was questioned and the current Mayor of South Dublin Gus O’Connell suggested four directly-elected mayors (one for each council) rather than one mayor.

Most of the councillors were from Dublin City Council, although all four councils were represented. Senator Gerry Horkan of Fianna Fáil was the other Oireachtas member present.

The meeting agreed to reconvene in January, at which time it is intended to invite the Minister for Housing and Local Government Simon Coveney.