Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment. I wish to add to Senator Ó Domhnaill's contribution.

The main reason local authorities other than those designated in the Bill should be allowed this flexibility is that when the question of the change of title first arose some years ago, one of the arguments put forward by those who advocated that the first citizen be called "mayor" mainly concerned the representative role, rather than the executive role, that a mayor would have, especially in representing the county abroad. In America, the term "cathaoirleach" would mean absolutely nothing. This is one of the reasons that led to the renaming of Dublin Corporation as Dublin City Council. When the Lord Mayor of Dublin went to America and said he represented a corporation, as far as the Americans were concerned this meant he represented some big company rather than an elected body. For that reason, if none other, there should be some flexibility built into this section that would at least allow the option to exist. It is quite possible that there are some counties which, for traditional or historical reasons, may wish to retain the style of cathaoirleach or leas-chathaoirleach. In my county, Leitrim, the titles "cathaoirleach" and "leas-cathaoirleach" have been retained, because they serve to point to our Irish identity as much as anything else. This does not necessarily take account of the pragmatic view I have been putting forward as to why there should be flexibility in regard to whether one is called "cathaoirleach" or "mayor". In terms of the representative role the first citizen carries out, particularly abroad and especially among the Irish diaspora, the term "mayor" is useful. As the Minister knows, the mayor or first citizen tends to travel to very specific events annually among the Irish diaspora, particularly in Britain and the United States. For no reason other than a very entrepreneurial one, the use of the title "mayor" rather than "cathaoirleach", whose exact meaning might be questioned abroad, might help to enhance the attractiveness of the county.