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

I thank Deputy Humphreys for raising this important matter. As he knows, the establishment of a directly elected mayor across the area of the four local authorities in Dublin has been attempted a number of times by Governments over the years, and there have been a number of changes of heart by those Governments, with a lack of structured consultation with local representatives or the people of the Dublin metropolitan area.

Within the framework of the Local Government Reform Act 2014, I provided for the first time a more consultative and bottom-up approach to the creation of an office of directly elected mayor for the metropolitan area of Dublin. The option of a plebiscite remained as had always been envisaged - that is, a local plebiscite allowing the elected councils in the first instance, and the electorate in Dublin secondly, to decide whether Dublin should have a directly elected mayor, and the range of functions for the office.

In recognition of their democratic mandate as local public representatives, and in the best traditions of representative democracy, the elected councillors in Dublin were given a proposal in respect of their vision for an office of directly elected mayor developed by a forum of the elected members from across the Dublin authorities, which was representative of a wide range of political perspectives. Each of the local authorities took its own decision on whether there should be a plebiscite in light of what they felt was best for the area they represent.

There was a clear divergence in the views of Fingal County Council and the other three local authorities in Dublin on the role of a directly elected mayor, leaving us with no consensus on a model for the office that could be put in a plebiscite in tandem with the recent local and European elections on 23 May. In our system of representative democracy, it would have been wrong to ignore the views of Fingal and to put a proposal to the electorate that did not enjoy the support of all four authorities in the region.

My immediate focus has now switched to bedding down the very significant reforms to the local government system generally that have been introduced from 1 June this year. The meetings of 30 of the new councils last Friday were a further welcome step in the reform programme, and I look forward to the completion of meetings of the new municipal district members over the rest of this week and early next week.

The changes we have brought about in local government are the most important changes across the country in more than a century, and their successful implementation will greatly improve local government and the role it plays in representing local communities and in economic, community and social development. However, that is not to say that, following a period of reflection, proposals for a directly elected mayor for Dublin could not be revisited.

I assure Deputy Humphreys and the House that I am committed to the concept of a directly elected mayor for Dublin. The Government remains committed to the notion of a plebiscite for a directly elected mayor for Dublin, and it appears that it is down to me to come up with a fresh initiative in view of the failure of the forum to achieve that consensus. This must take account of the differing views, significant in some respects, among the different local authorities on the role of such an office. Engagement will be required with the four authorities and all relevant Government Departments at a time most likely to maximise the prospects for agreement on a meaningful proposal to put to the electorate, and to maximise the prospects for success in the ballot box.

In that context, consideration would have to be given to not only how an office of a directly elected mayor would impact on functions currently discharged at central government level but also how the existing four Dublin local authorities' remit would be affected by such an office. It is my intention to write to the newly appointed mayors and chairpersons of those local authorities to invite them to a meeting in the Custom House in early July to discuss how working together we can take the directly elected mayor issue forward.

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