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

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 12, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “(6) The Mayor shall have as a function an ambassadorial role in the promotion and delivery of a living wage in business contained within the administrative area covered by Limerick City and County Council.

(7) The Mayoral role shall have promotional and delivery responsibilities in the advertising and promotion of Limerick as a national and international tourist destination.

(8) The Mayoral role shall have responsibility for the organisation and chairing of the joint policing committee.

(9) The Mayor shall have executive powers in the realms of waste management.

(10) The Mayor shall have executive powers for public realm improvements including disused and unused public spaces.

(11) The Mayor shall have oversight with regards to the implementation of the Limerick Regeneration projects, and any subsequent regeneration programmes, and shall produce an annual report to be delivered to councillors regarding the status of the regeneration programmes.

(12) The Mayoral role shall, subject to section 213 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, incorporate executive functions from the Chief Executive the realms of land acquisition, with all purchases being subject to ratification by Limerick City and County Council.”.

This amendment seeks additional powers for the mayor. Again, we discussed this on Committee Stage but we were not convinced by the responses we got then. A number of new subsections are proposed in the amendment.

The proposed new subsection (6) refers to the introduction of a living wage, as committed to in the programme for Government. My party and I are committed to delivering a living wage for citizens to allow people to live with dignity. If the mayor could have a promotional and ambassadorial role in the delivery of a living wage, it would allow for this idea and ambition to be highlighted to a larger number of people.

If we want to deliver a truly democratic mayor with real powers, the person holding this position must have a level of influence and clout that other elected TDs, councillors and Senators do not have. Such a person would be a good ambassador for the city. The power and prestige of the position makes it extremely suitable for the elected mayor to be a champion for the delivery of tourism, as referred to in the proposed new subsection (7).

The amendment, in the proposed new subsection (8), refers to "the organisation and chairing of the joint policing committee". While we understand that this may reluctantly remove a power from local councillors, it is thought that the role of chairperson of the Limerick City and County Council joint policing committee is a power that should rest with the mayor of the entire Limerick city and county area.

The proposed new subsection (9), in referring to "executive powers in the realms of waste management", seeks to give the mayor responsibility for waste management with a specific intention to increase efficiencies in how waste is collected and managed. The CCPC report of 2018, which was commissioned by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, suggested that the current structure is not in the interests of consumers or the environment. Many areas of the city and county have multiple companies servicing streets, sometimes with two or three different lorries in the same street in the one day. For instance, I live in a street with eight houses and we have four collectors of waste. It is not efficient. This is an opportunity to give the mayor a tangible success in his or her first term that is in the interests of the people of Limerick.

The proposed new subsection (10) provides that the mayor "shall have executive powers for public realm improvements including disused and unused public spaces". It is crucial to the success of the directly elected mayor project that the mayor will have sufficient powers to nullify any concerns that this will be just a ribbon-cutting position. We must get rid of the concern that is out there. Decision-making around the use of public spaces is an area of significant powers.

The amendment provides in the proposed new subsection (11) that the mayor will "have oversight with regards to the implementation of the Limerick Regeneration projects, and any subsequent regeneration programmes, and shall produce an annual report to be delivered to councillors regarding the status of the regeneration programmes". We have included this provision because regeneration in Limerick has been a mixed bag. In some ways it has failed and in other ways it has been crucial in enhancing areas that were most impacted by the violent feuds of the 2000s. There have been successes and failures across all three pillars of the regeneration programme. Although it is fair to say that most areas are better for the involvement of regeneration schemes, regeneration is not just about bricks and mortar - it is also about social inclusion and community participation. It is crucial that any future regeneration funds and schemes are directed to the areas where they are most needed. Giving control of this to a Limerick-based elected mayor will enhance the probability that these resources are delivered to the areas that need them most. Regeneration has been, and continues to be, extremely important. Many of areas most impacted have now flourished and have thriving communities, although due to cuts in funding and the failure to deliver on the ambitions of the original plan, there remains a need for a continued focus on these areas. Giving the mayor an oversight position on this important project and its successors would ensure that this implementation remains front and centre of any future plans for Limerick. While regeneration has failed in some aspects, there are other aspects that could count as success. The implementation plan was key to that. The AILG has argued that any successor plan should be established under the devolved power of a democratically elected mayor.

Finally, the amendment provides in the proposed new subsection (12) that the "Mayoral role shall, subject to section 213 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, incorporate executive functions from the Chief Executive the realms of land acquisition, with all purchases being subject to ratification by Limerick City and County Council". I reiterate it is important the position of mayor is not a ribbon-cutting ceremonial role. It is really important.

It is almost five years since the people of Limerick voted in the plebiscite. After such a wait, it was extremely disappointing to see the Bill as initiated. I am not sure why it took so long to come up with a Bill that provides the mayor with little or no power. Providing the mayor with power to acquire land would go some way towards addressing the absence of real powers contained within the Bill as initiated. I have made most of these comments on Committee Stage but I believe we still have to push this.

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