Agreement reached on Dublin City Council coalition

Mike Finnerty 21 Jun 2024

Dublin City Council will be run by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, the Greens and Labour over the course of the next council term.

Ahead of today’s annual meeting of Dublin City Council, in which mayoral roles and duties are divvied up between parties, the four parties have come to an agreement over Local Property Tax.

Fine Gael, with its 11 councillors, will be the leading party in the 4-party coalition on Dublin City Council with the Irish Times reporting that Fine Gael’s James Geoghegan will be elected Lord Mayor of Dublin at today’s meeting.

Fine Gael (11 councillors) Fianna Fáil and the Greens (8 councillors) and Labour (4 councillors) are just one seat short of an outright majority on Dublin City Council, which means they will need the votes of independent councillors to govern effectively over the next five years.

It is understood the votes of independent councillors will be required on a vote-by-vote basis.

A prospective left-wing coalition of the Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, Labour and the Greens fell apart late last week after Labour pulled out over the issue of Local Property Tax.

Labour demanded a raise in Local Property Tax, which Social Democrats and Sinn Féin are reported to have balked at.

In a statement issued on Friday morning, Labour councillor Darragh Moriarty said that an agreement was reached between the current government coalition parties and Labour over the issue.

“Going into this agreement came down to sticking to our principles and forcing a significant breakthrough on Local Property Tax for the first time on Dublin City Council. Over the last ten years, the majority on the Council has voted in favour of Local Property Tax cuts, squandering €125 million that could have been invested in Dublin. For the first time, we will now be able to restore Local Property Tax to its baseline level, meaning we can raise around €60 million over the lifetime of this council term to put directly back into Dublin.”

“Investing in our City’s public services is vital – it will make people’s homes better, provide more active transport initiatives, cleaner streets and more parks.”

Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre Heney signed the coalition agreement on behalf of the party, and said it was a “move towards unity.”

“We are at a pivotal moment for Dublin,” she said.

“The collaboration among the four parties demonstrates our shared commitment to delivering the best outcomes for our city. By working together, we can ensure that Dublin City Council provides cohesive leadership, increases services, and secures the necessary funding to enhance the quality of life for all our residents.”

The agreement, seen by Dublin People, reads “Local Property tax will be set at base rate (0% variation) for years 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this council term with a free vote in year 1.”

“Increased funding from LPT to be ringfenced for housing maintenance, street cleanliness and a new fund for playgrounds. Parties will also seek clear commitments from the central government on improving council funding, including the introduction of a hotel tourist tax, to better support city services and ease pressure on small businesses’ commercial rates.”

Speaking yesterday, Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said “for all their talk about the need for unity on the left, it now appears that Labour will simply revert to their default position of being mudguards for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil at the first opportunity.”