Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The last one is a key point. This relates to directly elected mayors. I appreciate the question arises as to whether it should be a town over a certain size. It is not just the major cities that would take that responsibility and insist on that change. That is at the heart of what is happening in Drogheda. We do not have somebody who is accountable because he or she does not live in the town or come to it in terms of the meetings, yet he or she makes all the decisions whereas a directly elected mayor is on the spot and would be fired if he or she did not do his or her job.