Dr. Diarmuid Torney:

I echo what Dr. Caulfield just said. It is important not just that a mayor would be directly elected, but that he or she is given appropriate powers and resources. Otherwise, we just repeat some of the existing difficulties with local councillors, which is that they are elected, but they do not have the powers to deliver the things that their constituents want. I am strongly in favour of directly elected mayors at least for the cities, provided that they are granted sufficient authority and resources.