Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The number of public representatives nationally will be reduced from 1,647 to 950, which is a radical decrease in numbers.

I thank Deputies Murphy and Humphreys for highlighting the imbalance in the number of councillors per head of population in respect of the Dublin area. A colloquium, chaired by the Lord Mayor of Dublin and involving all councillors in Dublin city and county, will be triggered immediately. Its first meeting will be held in May and it will discuss the merits and demerits of holding a plebiscite on the day of the local elections in 2014 on whether to have a directly elected Lord Mayor of Dublin. This will be a decision for the people of Dublin city and county to make in due course.

See this speech in context