Proposed directly elected mayor for the Dublin Metropolitan Area
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There have been several proposals for a directly elected
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of the
Dublin metropolitan area The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. As of 2022, its ...
in Ireland. The area corresponds to
County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
, and comprises four
local authority area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phrase i ...
s, namely the city of
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
and the counties of
South Dublin , image_map = Island of Ireland location map South Dublin.svg , map_caption = Inset showing South Dublin (darkest green in inset) within Dublin Region (lighter green) , area_total_km2 ...
,
Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. ...
, and
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Dun Laoghaire–Rathdown.svg , area_total_km2 = 125.8 , area_footnotes = , seat_type = County town , seat = Dún Laoghaire , blank_name_sec1 = Vehicle indexmark ...
. Currently, the elected councillors of each local authority area choose a chairperson or mayor annually from among their number as a ceremonial head with no extra powers. The chairperson of
Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...
is the
Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...
, a ceremonial position separate from the proposed executive mayor. This is similar to the distinction between the ancient office of
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
and the office of
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...
established in 2000.


Debate

Advocates have claimed that giving a directly elected mayor some of the executive powers currently held by unelected local authority chief executives would improve
legitimacy Legitimacy, from the Latin ''legitimare'' meaning "to make lawful", may refer to: * Legitimacy (criminal law) * Legitimacy (family law) * Legitimacy (political) See also * Bastard (law of England and Wales) * Illegitimacy in fiction * Legit (d ...
,
accountability Accountability, in terms of ethics and governance, is equated with answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the pub ...
, and public
engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
with local government. Political consultant Derek S. Mooney opposed the plan as not addressing the powerlessness of local government and likely to create a personality clash between the mayor and the
Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
of the day.
Fingal County Council Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...
members have opposed the plan on the basis that its agenda would be swamped by the needs of the core urban centre.


2001 act

The
Local Government Act 2001 The Local Government Act 2001 (No. 37) was enacted by the Oireachtas on 21 July 2001 to reform local government in the Republic of Ireland. Most of the provisions of the Act came into operation on 1 January 2002. The act was a restatement and a ...
provided for directly elected mayors beginning at the 2004 local elections, but a 2003 amendment repealed this provision.


2010 bill

The government programme agreed by the Fianna Fáil–Green coalition formed after the 2007 general election promised to consider directly elected mayors, and a 2008
green paper In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth countries, Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of policy proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represen ...
proposed such a mayor for Dublin at first and other cities later. The minister
John Gormley John Gormley (born 4 August 1959) is an Irish former Green Party politician who served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from June 2007 to January 2011, Leader of the Green Party from June 2007 to May 2011 and Lor ...
made a commitment to a Dublin mayor on 12 May 2009 and was supported by Fine Gael in a September
adjournment debate In the Westminster system, an adjournment debate is a debate on the motion, "That this House do now adjourn." In practice, this is a way of enabling the House to have a debate on a subject without considering a substantive motion. Types of deb ...
. In July 2010, Gormley expected the first election to be that October. The Local Government (Mayor and Regional Authority of Dublin) Bill 2010 had reached
committee stage In the United Kingdom an act of Parliament is primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. An act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the UK constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Irelan ...
when it lapsed on the
dissolution of the Dáil The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the mandatory simultaneous resignation of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assemb ...
before the 2011 general election.


2014 act

The
Local Government Reform Act 2014 The Local Government Reform Act 2014 (No. 1) is an act of the Oireachtas which provided for a major restructuring of local government in Ireland with effect from the 2014 local elections. It merged some first-tier county and city councils, ...
passed by the Fine Gael—Labour coalition formed after the 2011 general election made widespread changes to local government, including provision for a "Directly Elected Mayor for Dublin Metropolitan Area".Local Government Reform Act 2014, Part 11 The act specified several stages in the process leading to the creation of the office of mayor: * the four local authorities' councils would send delegates to a forum to agree a draft plan for the mayor's functions. This forum in fact met in April 2013, before the bill had been introduced; after public consultations, the resulting report was submitted in late 2013, before the bill became law. The Act retrospectively sanctioned these steps. * the Minister would approve the draft. This happened in March 2014. * each council had to vote to put the draft to a plebiscite
Fingal County Council Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...
voted 16–6 to reject it on 31 March 2014, obviating the need for subsequent steps. The other three councils voted for the plebiscite. The following steps provided for under the Act did not happen because of Fingal's rejection: * at the plebiscite, a majority of local election voters across the four authorities' areas would have to approve the proposal * the government would choose to implement the proposal, and the Oireachtas would enact new legislation to effect this. * an election would be held, under the terms of the new legislation, for the post of mayor. Those supporting and opposing the original plan called on the Minister to revise the proposal. On 10 June 2014 he told the Dáil, "The Government remains committed to the notion of a plebiscite for a directly elected mayor for Dublin, and it appears that it is down to me to come up with a fresh initiative in view of the failure of the forum to achieve that consensus."


32nd Dáil

In 2016,
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
and the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
both introduced
private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
s proposing directly elected mayors. The Fine Gael-led coalition formed after the 2016 general election is a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
relying on
confidence and supply In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house. A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of parl ...
support from Fianna Fáil, and the parties agreed to postpone the
second stage A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage i ...
of the Fianna Fáil bill until 30 June 2017. The bill envisaged a plebiscite in 2018 with the mayor elected as part of the 2019 local elections. The mayor would serve a five-year term, with elections at the same time as those for the city and county councils. In September 2017, the government announced its intention to amend the constitution to provide for directly elected mayors; the necessary referendum was tentatively scheduled for October 2018, alongside a presidential election and two other referendums. This did not happen. The
Local Government Act 2019 The Local Government Act 2019 ( Act No.1 of 2019; previously the Local Government Bill 2018, Bill No. 91 of 2018) is an Act of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) which provided for the following: * The transfer of territory to Cork City Counc ...
provides for plebiscites for directly elected mayors for
Cork City Council Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, ...
,
Limerick City and County Council Limerick City and County Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach agus Contae Luimnigh) is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in the Limerick, City of Limerick and County Limerick in Republic of ...
and
Waterford City and County Council Waterford City and County Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach agus Contae Phort Láirge) is the authority responsible for local government in the City of Waterford and County Waterford in Ireland. It came into operation on 1 June 2014 after the ...
alongside the May 2019 local elections. On 27 September 2018 the government decided not to include Dublin in the plebiscites: "In view of the complexities of local government in County Dublin and the Dublin Metropolitan Area ... it was deemed appropriate ... to allow space for detailed and informed public discourse on the matter", which will to be discussed by a "Dublin
Citizens' Assembly A citizens' assembly (also known as citizens' jury or citizens' panel or people's jury or policy jury or citizens' initiative review or consensus conference or citizens' convention) is a body formed from randomly selected citizens to delibera ...
" to be set up in 2019.


See also

*
Directly elected mayors in England and Wales Directly elected Mayors or Leaders in England and Wales, informally known as Metro Mayors or Leaders, are local government executive leaders who are directly elected by the residents of a local authority area (typically, but not always, a metro ...


References


Sources

*


Citations

{{reflist Proposed laws of Ireland Local government in County Dublin