Mr. Colm Ward:

I thank the Cathaoirleach and members for the opportunity to address the committee. The relevant issues have been comprehensively covered in both the deliberations and the final report of the citizens' assembly. In addition, as public servants and already being accustomed to the delivery of a range of legislative responsibilities, South Dublin County Council will of course adapt to the future model and associated structures that are arrived at through the process. In that context and with the specific terms and outcome of a plebiscite, which is not yet known, detailed commentary on my behalf in relation to the role and its responsibilities is somewhat speculative and premature. Notwithstanding that, I take the opportunity to highlight certain high-level issues to be considered in moving this process forward.

I believe that such a plebiscite should clearly detail what future regime voters are being asked to decide upon, rather than presenting a binary choice. I cite the example of the UK's EU referendum which led to Brexit, which left more questions than answers afterwards. A clear understanding by the electorate of the implications and outcome of a vote for the directly elected mayor is essential.

In my view, it is also important that any new structure introduced does not devalue the individual identity of any of the existing four Dublin local authority areas or indeed present the potential to reprise past circumstances which resulted in the underprioritisation of facilities and services to certain communities and geographical areas.

South Dublin County Council was established under the Local Government Act 1993 in a pioneering reform of local government. Since then, we have strived to create and shape an identity for south County Dublin, developing and delivering key plans, strategies, infrastructure and services for our citizens and particularly working to overcome legacy challenges for the area.

The population of south Dublin is currently 301,075 people, as of the latest census, or nearly 6% of the national population, but will represent just 20% of the combined Dublin city and county population that the directly elected mayor will oversee. Tallaght, the county town of south Dublin, and its immediate environs, has a population reaching 100,000 people and is at city scale. The need to ensure an equitable focus on the citizens of Tallaght and south Dublin, and all other areas of Dublin city and county, must underpin the proposed new representational, funding and other arrangements under a directly elected mayoral structure.

We have a council membership of 40 locally elected councillors across seven local electoral areas, who function together in a plenary council responsible for a range of legislatively reserved functions, as well as four local area committees and a range of other statutory and non-statutory committees that bring local government close to its citizens. While welcoming the recommendation to keep the existing local authority structures, the marriage of this local dynamic with an overarching directly elected mayor, together with an associated cabinet and city and county assembly, needs careful consideration to ensure its optimal operation. The revision of the existing regional assembly tier to support the county and county mayoral structure, along with providing appropriate remuneration that recognises the enhanced role of elected councillors in such a structure, are particular elements that could serve to enhance the proposed future arrangements.

This council has a current workforce comprising just over 1,500 posts across areas including housing, economic development, climate action and so on. Our revenue budget for 2023 totalled €306 million while our current three-year capital programme for the period 2023 to 2025 amounts to €1.15 billion. The scale of these budgets gives the committee an insight into the associated volume and range of existing services, programmes and projects being delivered by the staff of this council as but one of four Dublin local authorities.

The Dublin local authorities have a long history of collaboration together and with other national and local bodies on housing, enterprise, tourism, and so on, from which the committee can take great confidence for any proposed future arrangements. However, the potential sharing or removal of some existing areas of local authority responsibility upon the establishment of the mayor’s office alone will likely present considerable challenges, even without the addition of the further proposed responsibilities from outside the current local authority remit.

The challenges and timeframes involved in progressing to a single national water utility in recent years should be very informative when considering the potential consolidation of a multiplicity of functions from across four of the largest local authorities in the State and from a range of central government and national bodies. The willingness of all relevant agencies and Departments to be part of that change along with the Dublin local authorities will be critical to its success.

The considerations as outlined are high-level initial observations intended to inform the pathway forward in delivering on the political will and the clear wishes of the citizens' assembly to establish a directly elected mayor for Dublin. The valuable work of the citizens' assembly on this issue is fulsomely acknowledged. I am happy to engage further with the committee at any stage in future as that pathway becomes clearer.