Dubliners may get to vote for their mayor

Dublin could have its first directly-elected mayor within three years under a Fianna Fáil proposal which looks likely to be backed by the Oireachtas.

Dublin spokesman John Lahart has won party approval for a private members Bill which will give citizens an opportunity to decide if Dublin should have a mayor with executive powers to run the city.

Under the proposal, a plebiscite of every citizen in Dublin city and county will be held in May 2018. If they approve of the idea, Dublin will have its first mayoral elections in May 2019.

The Local Government Bill 2016 is due to be tabled in the Dáil later this month.

Mr Lahart, a TD for Dublin South West, said yesterday he has not been overly prescriptive in setting out the powers and functions of the mayor. He said he will embark on an intensive consultation campaign with other parties and individuals to seek a consensus view on the best model.

Given the make-up of the current Oireachtas, the Bill is likely to draw sufficient cross-party support to become law by early next year.

“I am very open to this Bill being adjusted. This is not about Fianna Fáil’s position. This is about positioning Dublin as an international city region, to compete with other cities throughout the world.”

London model

Mr Lahart said the London mayoral model was a relatively good one to follow. When the office was established there, the mayor of London was given relatively modest powers, but twice those powers have been expanded.

He said the person in office should have executive powers. However, he also said the person in the office was often best when they fulfilled a co-ordinating role, getting people together to pursue a particular direction.

He said part of the problem at the moment is that there were four mayors in Dublin with very limited powers and without widespread recognition. He said the city lacked a person to champion it for tourism, planning, transport, climate change, housing and homelessness, and who could actually get things done.

Mr Lahart said that the four local authorities could continue to function as before, although a regional-type assembly would be required for the wider city and county, that would be specifically associated with the mayor’s office.

“Dublin needs a go-to person. At the moment, you have to go to each of the four councils individually if you want to talk about the arts or tourism,” he said.

The previous government brought forwards plans in 2014 for a directly-elected mayor but it was contingent on being approved by all four councils. It was rejected by councillors from Fingal.