Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

At the end of the day, local people know best. The major problems that dramatically affect the Dublin region, including the shocking lack of affordable and social housing, the very backward state of the poor transport system compared to those in other European capitals of similar size and in the erratic ad hoc developer-led planning system, may all be traced back to a lack of vigorous local leadership throughout the past 100 years. Probably the most effective manager in Dublin city and county was Mr. Frank Feely. When I served on the council, he used to say Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would never allow a directly elected mayor in Dublin because the day he or she was elected, he or she would become the second most important politician in the State after the Taoiseach. There is an element of truth in that and it is something to which we should face up. Other great cities such as Vienna in Austria have them. When we look across Europe, we can see 17 directly elected mayors in the United Kingdom in places such London, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. It is fascinating to watch mayors who have a clear mandate such as Mr. Andy Burnham in Manchester, Mr. Andy Street in Birmingham who used to head up a famous retail chain and Sadiq Khan in London and the operation of their dynamic programmes encompassing public transport, housing and the revival of drainage systems. Likewise, when we look across the United States, we see the same. I was struck some years ago by the example of Stockholm which has four councils but a single executive mayor, Karin Björnsdotter Wanngård. She can make key executive decisions for the entire municipality. The greater Stockholm area has a population of 3 million or 4 million.

I welcome the tiny steps the Minister of State has taken and would like him to reflect on the points made about the chief executive. I know that it is going for consultation, but Dublin desperately needs a directly elected mayor. It is a step I support and it is ironic that Cork, Waterford and Limerick will have directly elected mayors before Dublin.

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