Fianna Fáil councillor Daryl Barron has been officially elected as the 359th Lord Mayor of Dublin at this evening’s Annual Meeting of Dublin City Council.
The Lord Mayor has served as a councillor for Donaghmede since 2019.
In his inaugural address, Barron said his theme as Mayor will be “Our Dublin.”
The Fianna Fáil councillor said he was committed to a “safer and cleaner capital,” tackling dereliction and the housing crisis, and “empowering youth and honouring communities.”
Barron said he would deploy an ambitious ‘Cleaner Dublin Initiative’ with expanded direct labour staff and dedicated community wardens, alongside a formal partnership with Gardaí to rapidly expand town-centre policing and establish a dedicated transport police unit.
He said he would establish a plan to establish direct delivery of affordable housing on council-owned sites.
The Fianna Fáil councillor said he would also launch the “Lord Mayor’s Community Leader Awards” across every electoral area of Dublin City Council to recognise grassroots sports and volunteer organisations.
Speaking after being elected as Lord Mayor, after coalition partners Labour and the Greens ignored calls to withdraw from the coalition, Barron said “a great capital city cannot survive on potential alone; it survives on delivery, which in turn enables it to thrive.”
“When foundational pillars like security, cleanliness and housing fracture, civic trust fractures with them. This year, we restore that trust. By going back to the basics that underpin our great city, we will put our vibrant communities back on the map,” he said.
“The Mansion House will not be a place of passive stewardship; it will be an engine room of executive action. From the street corners to this Council chamber, we will clear the litter, build the homes our people deserve, and ensure public safety is treated as a basic essential, not a luxury.”
Government councillors “angry and annoyed” at Minister Browne’s one-man war on DCC
The incoming Lord Mayor also referenced the imminent international focus on the city as Dublin takes centre stage during Ireland’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union, pledging to use the platform to drive economic resilience and strengthen local democracy.
He also called on central government to empower the city in Budget 2027 through the introduction of a localised Visitors Levy Tax to fund public realm infrastructure without “overburdening” local businesses.
Since taking office as Minister for Housing in January 2025, Fianna Fáil TD James Browne has come in for criticism from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors alike for his autocratic tendencies and for not allowing Dublin City Council members to have input on major decisions.
Barron has been a critic of Minister Browne’s approach, telling a Council meeting in May that he has voiced his frustration with the Minister about his tendencies to act unilaterly and not give councillors input on major decisions.
Labour councillor Alison Field.
Field was first elected to Dublin City Council in June 2024, and is a councillor for the Clontarf area.