Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the Order of Business. I particularly welcome that we are taking the Government motion relating to the proposal that the report of the Dublin Citizens' Assembly be referred to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, of which I am a member, but we need to be clear about something. I do not know the motive behind the Government motion other than the words that are before us today. It is important that we do not repeat, reconsider or rehash what the citizens' assembly has done because it has done its work. I do not know the Government's expectation of the outcome but it is important that we have consultation with elected members in local government across the country, in particular, Dublin city and county councillors and civil society, and business and the chamber of commerce. Let us be clear. The motion proposes to refer the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly report to the Oireachtas joint committee, with which I have no difficulty, but also "to consider the recommendations contained therein and to advise on the requirement for the holding of a plebiscite to determine if Dublin should have a directly-elected Mayor ... and, if so, to propose a draft wording for such a plebiscite". I draw Senators' attention to the recommendations of the citizens' assembly dated December 2022, and the final recommendation: "Recommendation 18: Decision about a directly-elected Mayor of Dublin", which states, "There should be a plebiscite of the local electorate of Dublin to determine whether or not Dublin should have a directly-elected Mayor." We need to be conscious of that. We cannot have it both ways. A citizens' assembly was appointed. They have done their work and I acknowledge the significant and important work they have done. We now have a Government motion before us ion whether there should or should not be a plebiscite and the wording of such a plebiscite, and that is the restrictive narrative of this proposal. We had a debate in the House on this. The citizens' assembly, which had elected councillors on it, states in recommendation 18: "There should be a plebiscite of the local electorate of Dublin to determine whether or not Dublin should have a directly-elected Mayor." Effectively, the debate is more or less over. That is what the citizens' assembly has asked. I want to put on record my support for the citizens' assembly and the elected members on it. I will be at all times robustly arguing that there be a plebiscite of the people of Dublin city and county, which is currently represented by four local authorities, namely Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Dublin City Council, Dublin Fingal and South Dublin County Council. Let us be clear about the scope and the ask.I do not know the rationale for the Government's motion but I think it is interesting. We need to find out more about the detail.