Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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244. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update regarding the plan to have a directly elected mayor for Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38664/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Local Government Reform Act 2014 provided for a wide-ranging programme of reform to local government structures, functions and governance, including a process for the holding of a plebiscite on the possible introduction of an office of directly elected mayor for a Dublin metropolitan authority. This procedure was based on achievement of political consensus across the four Dublin local authorities (Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and South Dublin County Council), involving the adoption of a resolution by a majority of each Dublin council for the holding of a plebiscite in relation to proposals set out in the resolution. In the event, that statutory requirement for the holding of a plebiscite was not met.

Subsequently, my predecessor, in a meeting with the Mayors of the four Dublin authorities on 7 July, invited them to consider and revert with proposals that would address not only the concept of a directly elected mayor but also the wider governance of the metropolitan area including cost and functional implications. Any subsequent process arising from this would be contingent on political consensus across the four local authorities.

Furthermore, as the process under the 2014 Act provided only for a possible plebiscite in conjunction with the 2014 local elections, fresh legislation would be required to provide for any further proposal in this matter, which would have to be viewed in the context of priorities generally, including the heavy programme of important legislation arising over the next 18 months or so.