Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle allowing me to raise this very important issue and I am pleased that the Minister has taken the time from his busy schedule to be here to respond to the matter.

A directly elected Mayor of Dublin is at the core of Fine Gael's policies for reform of local government. The proposal is a positive step and I welcomed the Minister's announcement in this regard. So far, the Minister is heavy of rhetoric and light on detail. Coincidentally, my colleague, Deputy Leo Varadkar, raised this matter this morning on the Order of Business. The Tánaiste did not seem to be well briefed as to the Minister's plans or his time table.

The concept of a directly elected mayor for Dublin has huge potential. This person would, potentially, be responsible for and accountable to almost a third of the population of the country. It would be a hugely esteemed and important position of accountability. As we heard throughout the debate on Private Members' Time last night, there is an appetite for accountability in public life, particularly at this time.

We have not yet seen any meaningful progress on this matter. The Local Government (Dublin Mayor) Bill, which is on the Government legislative programme, is only contained in section C, Bills in respect of which heads have yet to be approved by Government. When does the Minister expect the heads of the Bill to be at a point where they could be approved by Cabinet? The plans appear to be in disarray. The heads of Bill have not been agreed but the Minister seems to be confident that elections will be held next summer. It seems to be that the Minister is hoping for the best and that things are not really moving along. The position has potential and should not be allowed to fail due to lack of planning or detail at an early stage.

The proposal can only work if it is introduced in tandem with real and meaningful local government reform, something the Minister has long espoused as being at the core of what he and his party are about. I would like to see some action on this matter. We need clarity. For example, what responsibilities will the mayor have? Can the Minister give a concrete example of the executive powers proposed for the mayor? Will the office be a smokescreen or fig leaf or will it have real and meaningful powers?

What relationship will the mayor have with the four Dublin local authorities? Most people assumed the directly elected mayor would take the place of the Lord Mayor of Dublin. It seems that will not be the case. How will we deal with three country mayors and a city mayor? Where will the mayor live? What about the Mansion House? What role will the mayor have in relation to county managers? Will the county managers be directly accountable to the mayor of Dublin? We need clarity on all these issues.

All local authorities are starved of funding. Budgets have been slashed. What budget will the mayor have? Will he or she have a budget to implement his or her own policies? Will the mayor be able to appoint people to posts of responsibility in health, environmental and waste services? Will the mayor be in a position to appoint a sort of cabinet which would be directly responsible to the mayor? We have no clarity on these issues.

Councils need to plan. A new city council and three new county councils were elected in Dublin in June of this year. How can they plan for the duration of their terms of office? Will the newly appointed mayor be in position for four years or does the Minister intend the mayoral election to take place in tandem with council elections? We need clarity in this regard.

Dublin needs a directly elected mayor. It needs a local government capable of responding to its citizens' needs. I hope that the Minister's proposals for a directly elected mayor will respond to those needs.

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