Political parties “should not be afraid of the people of Dublin”, who can be “trusted to make the right decision” on choosing a directly elected mayor for the capital, Mayor of Limerick John Moran has said.
Mr Moran, who became the State’s first elected mayor last June, said Dubliners were “very proud of their city and they will want to pick the person they think will be the best mayor, and I think it’s up to political parties to present candidates that live up to that expectation”.
It has recently been reported that the Government is shelving plans for a plebiscite on a directly elected mayor for Dublin amid concerns that a populist candidate such as mixed-martial arts fighter Conor McGregor might run.
In response to queries from The Irish Times, the Department of Housing said the mayoral proposals “remained under consideration by the department”.
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Concerns over a candidate with huge financial resources, such as Mr McGregor, entering the race should “not stop democracy”, Mr Moran said.
“You can’t buy an election in Ireland,” he said.
The Government should “not be afraid of the people of Dublin, [should not worry] that they can trust them to make the right decision. Fundamentally, I trust democracy.”
Concerns about the “potential for populist figures to exploit the position for personal gain” were valid, Mr Moran said, but such concerns “must be addressed through careful design and robust safeguards. Democracy ultimately has to take its course.”
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Mr Moran was speaking at a conference in Dublin City University (DCU) on Mayoral Governance in Dublin. While the Limerick mayoral role had limited executive powers, it had important “soft power”, he said.
“Whatever we do locally, we can’t do without support from national government,” he said. “but never before has there been an opportunity like this, to present a holistic set of asks to Government,” he said.
“The easiest way of thinking of it is like having a Cabinet subcommittee and the subject matter is Limerick.”
Art O’Leary, chief executive of the Electoral Commission, told the conference that the Citizens’ Assembly, which in 2022 recommended holding a plebiscite on a directly elected mayor for Dublin, had made “really ambitious recommendations” around powers for the mayor.
“They wanted it to be the face of Dublin with real powers that can make a difference,” he said.
However, Mr O’Leary said, they also wanted “accountability”, recommending there be an assembly of elected representatives to which the mayor would be answerable.
He warned the office would only work in Dublin if it was adequately resourced. “Ireland is brilliant at setting up things. That brilliance is only matched by our unwillingness to resource them properly. To do this badly would be worse than not doing it all.”
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University of Limerick political science lecturer Diarmuid Scully said Ireland had one of the most centralised systems of government in Europe, with among the weakest local governance structures.
“Dublin is the only capital in Europe that doesn’t have an executive mayor, an elected person that holds executive power,” he said. “The idea of an executive mayor is not odd, it’s not unusual. What we have is odd and unusual.”
The way the role of directly elected mayor for Dublin was formulated would be “a lesson in respecting voters”, he said.
“If the job is serious enough voters will vote for a serious candidate.”
