Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

During the local and European elections in 2019, the people of Cork, Waterford and Limerick voted in plebiscites for directly-elected mayors. The people of Limerick accepted the proposal. Unfortunately, people in Cork and Waterford did not. It is over two years since that happened. We expected direct elections for the mayor of Limerick to take place in 2021. Obviously the pandemic interfered in that and delayed it. When will the legislation be ready? When will direct elections for mayor of Limerick take place? Is the Minister satisfied the powers being discussed will be enough to ensure we have a proper mayor and not just a spokesperson for the county? As the plebiscite was carried by such a small majority, will the Government establish a publicity campaign to ensure people are well aware of what we are talking about?

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