Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Boyhan's amendment. The Minister of State and I both remember the bad times in Limerick. It is now one of the best cities in the country. A huge amount of work was carried out jointly by the Garda, local and national politicians and the education and training board, formerly the vocational education committee. It is now a model city in so many ways. I love the place and I love to visit it.

As my colleague said, there was a lot of animosity in our discussions in this House when we were dealing with what was then the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill. Indeed, there was animosity within the Government parties. They were not necessarily too happy with one another as that legislation passed through the Houses. The mayor of Limerick, being directly elected, will be a unique post in Ireland. As such, that person should have a position that reflects the importance of the role. The Minister of State is in a position, not just as a Limerick man but as a national politician and Minister of State, to lay down the foundations for what the role of future mayors will look like. I have no doubt that Waterford, Galway and Dublin will be looking for directly elected mayors in the not too distant future because of the success of the work done locally in Limerick when the plebiscite is held. We all think of Donogh O'Malley when we think of education. It would be tremendous for another Limerick man to do something similar in regard to directly elected mayors.The Minister of State has a chance to create a persona and profile for a mayor, which will have to be followed in every other city as various mayors are elected. I ask him to take the amendment on board. It is extremely important. As my colleague said, it underpins the safety of citizens as the responsibility of the number one citizen in the city and county of Limerick - the mayor. I ask the Minister of State to take that on board.