Dr. Eoin O'Malley:

As for the way in which the councils will interact with the mayor, councillors will still have the same vetoing powers they currently have and will be needed to approve any plan the mayor has. What the legislation would do is give a single individual with a democratic mandate, the mayor, a mandate to create a policy agenda. To some extent that would remove some powers from the council because the council would have done that, although the mayor will be a member of the council, so they are not completely separate. A mayor would also need to work with the council in Limerick and anywhere else this would be rolled out. I am not sure it will weaken the council that much. What it will do is create a head that the council can look to for some sort of guidance and leadership. Because it has a democratic mandate, I do not think that is a major problem.

On the Deputy's second question regarding rural areas, I am not sure about those voices being represented. They can be represented by all kinds of manners and means and in various ways. They will be represented because the mayor and the councillors will be elected by people in local areas. My concern is about the expansion of Limerick because that expansion will go into areas such as south east and south County Claire and possibly even some parts of County Tipperary. It will be difficult for the city to manage its growth if we do not have some sort of control over how that space is going to be used and managed.