Written answers

Thursday, 4 October 2018

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Local Government Reform

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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255. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on the Dublin citizens' assembly that he is setting up. [40020/18]

Photo of John Paul PhelanJohn Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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At its meeting of 27 September, the Government approved the policy paper "Local Authority Leadership, Governance and Administration", prepared as part of the response to the Programme for Partnership Government (PPG) commitment to report to Government and the Oireachtas on potential measures to boost local government leadership and accountability.

Among a range of proposals, the paper outlines two main options for the enhancement of the role of local authority mayors, namely:

1.Directly elected mayors, based on the current role performed by Cathaoirligh/Mayors/Lord Mayors of local authorities, and

2.Executive Mayors, whose functions would include both existing Cathaoirleach/Mayor functions andexecutive functions currently residing with the Chief Executives of local authorities. Such executive mayors could be either elected directly by the electorate or indirectly from among the elected members of the Council.

In line with the PPG commitment to consider directly elected mayors in cities, the paper proposes that executive mayors, either directly or indirectly elected, could be put in place in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. A decision to establish the role of a directly elected executive mayor could rest with the electorate of the local authority through a plebiscite in each area.

The Government agreed in principle to the holding of plebiscites on directly elected mayors with executive functions for Cork City Council, Limerick City and County Council, Waterford City and County Council and Galway City Council and Galway County Council (in anticipation of a full merger of those two local authorities in 2021) at the same time as the Local Government Elections in May 2019. This agreement is subject to the necessary legislative provisions being included in the Local Government Bill 2018 and the future submission of more detailed proposals on the plebiscites and the questions to be put to the electorate, as well as the specific powers to be given to mayors.

The Government also noted the policy proposal to refer the issue of directly elected mayors for Dublin for more detailed consideration and citizen engagement by a Dublin Citizens' Assembly to be specially convened in 2019. Further details in this regard will be announced in due course.

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