Labour councillor Dermot Looney elected mayor of South Dublin

Labour Cllr Dermot Looney was elected Lord Mayor of South Dublin at a meeting of South Dublin County Council last night.

He brings to three the number of Labour Party councillors who have been elected to chairmanship or cathaoirleach roles for their respective Dublin local authorities this year.

Cllr Oisín Quinn became Lord Mayor of Dublin City Council earlier this month and Cllr Carrie Smyth was elected cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Action plan

Councillors in the fourth Dublin local authority, Fingal County Council, elected Fine Gael Cllr Kieran Dennison to the role of cathaoirleach last week.

The appointment of all four cathaoirligh marks the final mayoral elections in the term of the current councils. Councillors will face a local election next year along with a plebiscite by Dublin’s citizens on the direct election of a lord mayor.

Mr Looney was elected by a vote of 13 to nine. The 30-year-old from Greenhills works as a primary school teacher in St Dominic’s National School, Tallaght. Cllr Eamon Tuffy (Lab) was elected deputy mayor.

Next week, the three Labour local authority leaders will launch Labour’s Action Plan for Dublin.

The plan will include a strategy to deliver a Dublin-wide cycle network, proposals for schemes in Dublin libraries to promote reading about the capital’s history and heritage, and steps to make Dublin more senior-citizen friendly. The three will also consider the issues surrounding proposals for a directly-elected lord mayor.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Looney said it was “a hugely challenging time to be involved in local democracy”.

“I want to ensure the citizens of South Dublin are informed and engaged in the work of our council,” he said. He pledged to use social media “to communicate with new audiences”.