LEGISLATION FOR a directly-elected mayor of Dublin is not expected to be considered at this afternoon’s Cabinet meeting. As a result, the electoral process is likely to be postponed until spring of next year.
Today’s meeting of the Government will be the last one until the end of August but the mayoralty legislation is unlikely to be on the agenda.
Chairman of the Green Party Senator Dan Boyle told The Irish Timesyesterday that, once the Bill had been approved by the Cabinet, it would have to join the normal "queue" of legislation due to be examined by the Attorney General's office.
Consequently, the legislation was unlikely to be enacted in time to hold the elections before the end of this year.
“At this stage, it is looking less likely it can be fully prepared and processed by the Oireachtas in time for an autumn election and it’s more likely to be done in time for a spring election,” he said.
He stressed that there was no question of backing away from the proposal: “We want the legislation to be passed and we want it to be the right legislation.”
He attributed the delay to the success of the Green Party in having other Bills enacted, eg the recent animal welfare legislation.
Labour Party environment spokeswoman Joanna Tuffy TD said Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment John Gormley, had “a habit of announcing things without thinking through the logistics properly”.
She added: “There are huge implications in this legislation for local government in general in the Dublin area and there are many complex issues involved.”
Green Party sources said there were 170 sections in the Bill, which was described as a “big, complex piece of legislation”.
“The Minister has publicly challenged the Opposition that it could go through quickly if they wanted it to.” His main concern was that the proposal should not get bogged down in bureaucracy.
It was likely that byelections to fill the current vacancies in three Dáil constituencies would be held on the same day as the Dublin mayoral poll.
An estimated 180 members attended a Green Party regional conference in Limerick at the weekend where the main issues discussed were climate change, unemployment and the protection of the less well-off in the next budget.
Under the Programme for Government, the Coalition partners are committed to “introduce a directly-elected mayor for Dublin, with executive powers, by 2011”.