Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I know Deputy Quinlivan, if that is any use.

This Bill has been a long time in the making. I am happy to see it come to this House four years on from the people of Limerick casting their vote in favour of a directly elected mayor. It is worth noting that even though it passed a plebiscite, many people are still not in favour. They need to be convinced of the merits of the office. I am not sure if this Bill is in line with what people had in mind when they voted for a directly elected mayor, but it is a start. I am not a representative from Limerick, so I will speak to the Bill. My colleague Deputy Quinlivan will speak to the views of the people of Limerick. The office of the mayor for Limerick is the first of its kind, and I hope it is a success. It is an opportunity for us to address the issue of overly centralised governance. I believe that if this is done right, it will only be of benefit to local democracy in Limerick. I welcome that this Bill allows for other local authorities to pursue a directly elected mayor, if the people they represent vote to do so in the future.

People will be watching closely to see if this Bill gives more of a say to the people of Limerick in how their county is run. They will make a call on whether a directly elected mayor is worth pursuing based on the effectiveness of Limerick. I know this is something that has been discussed here in Dublin for more than a decade. That debate resulted in a citizens' assembly for Dublin to look at a directly elected mayor, with local government structures within the four local authorities, and how it might look. We got a detailed report and it gave a good indication of how people feel about local democracy and how it is working for them.

I turn now to the Bill. I welcome that Part 6 paves the way for all local authorities to take this route if the electorate wants it and they vote for it. This Bill has been future-proofed in case another plebiscite passes elsewhere. This is a quite lengthy Bill, but a lot of it seems straightforward. Section 7 is something we see in all Bills passed through this House. It is important that it is in this legislation.

Section 7 provides that the Minister will review how the office of the mayor of Limerick is operating after three years. This is welcome. We would all be naive not to expect that this legislation will have teething problems which will only become clear when it is operational. There are unknowns here because this is the first of its kind. I am not sure two years will be enough time to then implement the review's recommendation. I am not sure if it is even worth tabling an amendment to this section but it might be worth conducting a review after two years in the first term. This can all be teased out on Committee Stage. I would be shocked if any review did not come back with a number of recommendations looking for changes. This could cause a problem in that it might not give us enough time in the subsequent two years to make sure the recommendations are implemented before the next election, which will be in 2029. Maybe it is not really a valid concern but I would welcome the Minister of State's view.

Parts 2 and 3 of the Bill establish the office of the mayor and deal with the knock-on effects on the executive and council. The introduction of a director general, the príomh-chomhairleoir, and the leas-phríomh-chomhairleoir, replaces the old offices of chief executive, cathaoirleach and leas-chathaoirleach. A number of powers will be transferred from the new director general to the mayor, as detailed in the Schedule. The new príomh-chomhairleoir and the leas-phríomh-chomhairleoir are there to address any concerns around vacancies and temporary absences within the office of mayor, with power referring to the príomh-chomhairleoir, unless a by-election is required. I am not sure if the príomh-chomhairleoir will retain the full powers of the office of the mayor or if it would be more of a caretaker role if a vacancy came up. I would appreciate if we could address that as well.

Sections 18 and 19 deal with the staffing of the mayor's office. While it is probably right that the director general has some say here, I believe that the final say must rest with the directly elected mayor. I know these sections allow for the appointment of five council staff but in reality, any incoming mayor is going to opt for a special adviser. This is a point we could tease out further down the line. There are various sections dealing with the multiple forums that the mayor will now have a role on. These forums can only be a good thing, provided that they function properly and they meet regularly with the relevant stakeholders always attending. It is good for Limerick to have a good, strong democratically elected voice at the table. I wonder how much weight that voice will carry. That remains to be seen. I hope the office of mayor will have a significant influence on these forums. We have seen time and time again across various sectors that people are given a place at the top table and still their voices are ignored. I think this aspect of the Bill will need to function well if the office is to become a successful model for other local authorities to follow.

The Minister has been briefing elected representatives from Limerick that the office of the mayor will have an annual budget of approximately €8 million, which will be allocated through a public estimate process. Unfortunately we have yet to receive any more detail on what that breakdown is going to look like. Is it a first-year commitment or an annual commitment? Is it going to be from current spending, capital spending or a combination of the two? I know that is getting into the finer details but any candidates who are considering running for office next June will need to know exactly how much money is available. They need to be able to produce manifestos and campaign on them.

The Bill is a step in the right direction. The first five years of this office will probably determine the success of this model and shape the opinion of other local authorities considering a change in how democracy is delivered. Some people will see this as a radical reform of local government. Others will probably see it as tinkering around the edges. I believe it is a worthwhile attempt to make politics more local and relevant, especially to the people of Limerick and in other authorities that may go down this road in the future.

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