Mr. John A. Moran:

A point I mention in the notes worries me about the unintended use of language. When the mayor is elected, he or she will clearly have a manifesto and mandate to deliver a particular programme for Limerick. I had assumed the checks and balances, so to speak, with the council for that would be reflected in the annual budget that the mayor must have approved. There is a provision that speaks about the programme for local government and it seems a little ambiguous. In one case it seems to suggest there must be approval of the programme by the council but, in another, it suggests the mayor must listen to what the council is saying but it would not have a veto. I was a bit worried about the approval concept at the early stage of a mayoral election and term. As is now the case, a mayor could be elected mid-term or off-term under a very different mandate from the people of Limerick than the council's.

I gave an example of a national policy that the mayor wanted to follow but the local officials or council felt it should object to it. Basically, if it could hold up things, the council could prevent the agreement on the programme and it is not clear how it would continue. We need to give the mayor some sort of ability to drive on with the programme that should, of course, reflect his or her elected mandate, having taken due consideration of the views of the council. When the budget comes, that is when the rubber hits the road and the council can impose its democratically elected will.