COMMENT: Strong case for directly elected Lord Mayor for our capital city

Brian Hayes, Fine Gael MEP for Dublin

RECENT reports that the date to ask voters in Dublin and Cork if they want a directly elected Lord Mayor has been pushed back are disappointing.

The plebiscite on an executive mayor for these two cities was originally scheduled for next month, which would have allowed elections on these roles to happen in line with the Local and European Elections in May 2019.

Now it seems that this plebiscite won’t take place until June 2019, which means it will be a full five years before citizens in Dublin and Cork can exercise their vote for this important role.

In addition to this, a report due before Cabinet around about now is to recommend using Cork as a test case in the first instance, which means Dubliners miss out on a vital chance to influence how their city is governed.

Currently, each of the four local authorities in Dublin establishes their own policies, despite some attempt to work together in certain key areas. However, some have additional responsibilities. For example, Dublin City Council manages the fire service for all four authorities – Fingal, South Dublin, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown and the city. While each council collaborates on certain issues, there is no effective leadership and this needs to be put in place – and soon.

We are undoubtedly in a state of crisis with regard to housing in our capital city and we also face huge challenges in providing an adequate public transport system. There have been concerns expressed at Government level that there has not been enough opportunity to debate how a new Mayor for Dublin would operate his/her office.

This debate should be starting now. In addition to tackling our city’s problems, in the context of Brexit, it would be to Dublin’s advantage to have someone dynamic spearheading a campaign to attract overseas investment into Ireland.

One Mayor for all of Dublin would provide that executive leadership, with a dedicated budget and the centralised power that is so badly needed now.

Of the 27 EU capitals, 23 have directly elected Lord Mayors. This should be telling us something.

The onus is on all us politicians and State agencies to provide a proper standard of living to our citizens. Establishing a clear line of authority for Dublin is crucial for us at this point and needs to happen without further delays.