The Government has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown on its proposal to allow for the direct election of mayors and local authority chairpersons.
It has been learned that the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, is to row back on the proposal by limiting those eligible for election to councillors who have been local authority members for at least five years.
Under the original proposal contained in the Local Government Reform Bill, any citizen could go forward for election.
The legislation allowed for the first direct election of a mayor or council chairperson at the next local elections in 2004 when voters would have two ballot papers, one for councillors and the other for election of a mayor or council chairperson.
Following intensive opposition to the proposal from the three local authority associations, it is understood Mr Dempsey will amend the Bill to limit candidates for mayor and chairperson to those with at least five years' local authority experience.
This is the second U-turn this week by the Minister on the Local Government Reform Bill, which was published in May. On Thursday, the Minister agreed that Sligo, Wexford, Drogheda, Kilkenny and Clonmel could retain their city borough status. The Bill had proposed that they be downgraded to town council status.
He also gave a commitment that he would formally recognise Kilkenny as a "city" in the legislation.
The climbdown followed fierce lobbying from groups from each of the five towns and from the Fianna Fail backbench committee on the environment
The Local Government Reform Bill is the largest piece of local government legislation in the history of the State and provides for root and branch reform of the system.
In the Bill Mr Dempsey proposed the direct election of mayors and local council chairmen and chairwomen. It is proposed that the mayors would serve a five-year term, the same term as the local authorities themselves.
A mayor would not be able to hold office for more than two consecutive terms. In the case of a mayoral vacancy, if longer than 12 months remain in the life of the council a by-election would be called.
Under the Bill, strategic policy committees with representation from community interests will be established under the chairperson of the local authority or mayor of the city.
The three local authority representative associations have all made representations to the Minister on the matter. It is understood their concerns are three fold: that one-issue candidates would end up being elected mayor or a chairperson; that somebody with a lot of money but no particular interest or commitment would get elected; and that personality candidates would get elected.