Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O Broin for letting me in and I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the elevation. I am a mere Senator, but I will take that as future intent. We have already had Mayor Higgins.

I thank the assembly very much for its work. I find it inspiring. As a Dub, I feel we should declare independence. We are sick of Cork across all of these decades; let us just go with it. There is something in the identity of Dublin where if someone is living in south County Dublin under South Dublin County Council, and I have been a member of that council, that the identity of Dublin is wrapped up in the Mayor in the Mansion House. How do the rest of us own who our mayor is in our local authority?

One of the shocks for me on being elected to the local authority in 2019 was just how tiny our powers and influence were and how constrained we were. Here we had passionate people who wanted to give their time and energy to local government and you came away thinking that you had a whole heap of emails, work and everything else and asking how much you could actually deliver.

The idea is that we have an entity and a centre a power that presents Dublin as a cohesive entity or identity - a place for the people from all over the world who live in Dublin. There is a vision in this regard and I love that about the recommendations. Translating it into reality I find problematic and difficult. I am with the assembly all the way. We need a special Dublin police force to police the city. Our guest speakers referred to policing. I would take that further and say that we need policing for Dublin. Then we have to ask whether we recruit personnel and how would that affect the Garda Síochána? The ramifications of this are massive.

Do we need a plebiscite? Yes. Next June is probably too soon, but word has it that there will be a general election within 15 months. We have to have a general election, so the plebiscite could be held on the same day. There are days when this can be held over the next 23 months, as Mr. O'Leary has said.

We need an overwhelming indication from the people of Dublin to the effect that they want this and are behind it. That will send a message to the local authorities, both to those who are with us and those who are against the plebiscite.

In the context of packaging the plebiscite, the first point relates to who is selling it. Who is the relevant entity in this regard? There has not been a particular group involved in that regard. It is brilliant that the witnesses are passionately pleading with us to get on with it. . However, there is no responsibility entity and no momentum. The witnesses have experience. Dublin people all have experience of the fact that the minute someone starts winning, they are accused of being too big, too this or too that. I can see that happening here. At present, money that is collected by the Dublin local authorities is disbursed to other local authorities around the country. That would have to stop because they would need the funding kept in Dublin. There would have to be much more money from the Exchequer. In fighting and competing for that, that element would almost have to be visualised before the plebiscite because otherwise people would say that it is not going to happen.

Do the witnesses have any ideas as to how we package the plebiscite? Who should be presenting and advancing it?