Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My question is to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government. In May, in conjunction with the local and European elections, the people of Limerick voted in a plebiscite to accept the principle and concept of a directly elected mayor. I raised the following issue with the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, last July by way of parliamentary question. What is the status of the legislation for the roll-out of the directly elected mayor? The Minister indicated to me in a written reply last July that he proposed to establish an implementation committee in early September. What is the status of that committee and what is the proposed membership of same? I believe its membership should be as broad as possible to include as many voices in Limerick as possible in light of the huge civil society campaign and buy-in to the principle of a directly elected mayor, which I support. It is great for democracy. In the context of the discussion we had earlier on promoting oversight of our local authorities, this will be a very positive oversight mechanism.

The principle of a directly elected mayor has been knocking around in the now Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government for nearly 15 years. I would welcome an update on the status of the legislation for the Limerick directly elected mayor and the implementation committee. Also, is it still the Minister's intention to hold the election for the position in May or June 2021, as indicated to me previously?

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