Dublin's first Mayor to be elected next Summer

[lostexpectation]

way isn't tax in the bill now, where do the city managers come into this?

[Lightning Rod]

According to a Fine Gael spokesperson who

was speaking on the Order of Business, and later pursued the matter with Minister for the Environment John Gormley at question time. He said that whoever was elected would be no more than “the glorified chairperson of a city development board”.

He added: “In principle, Fine Gael has no problem whatsoever with the directly-elected mayor of Dublin.

“But 2114 is the appropriate time to have that, because we want to devolve functions from central government to local government and the councillors initially."

Mr Gormley said the mayor’s power to direct would allow the holder of the office to influence the €1.3 billion annual budget. He added he had no doubt that people in Fine Gael would be “gagging” for the job.

I am opposed to this gormless mayoral edifice,
But if it has to be, let it be later rather than sooner.
Keep the baying cronies from purloining more public money.

[dunno]

One of the sad things about all this is that Bertie Ahern is not delusional if he wants to be a candidate. He mightn't win, but he'd do well. If he does win, a nice office for him should be fitted out in one the 'Joy's cells.

[Lightning Rod]

One of the sad things about all this is that Bertie Ahern is not delusional if he wants to be a candidate. He mightn't win, but he'd do well. If he does win, a nice office for him should be fitted out in one the 'Joy's cells.

In the summer following Fagan's 'sacking' I set my paranoid mind to imagine the most egregious violation of democracy that could transpire in this recidivist nation - one day-nightmare involved Bertie Ahern regaining public office. Initially my rational mind rejected this prediction as ludicrous, but like most nascent phobias the idea lodged in my thoughts like a splinter in my mind.

The rational mind rejects this idea.
But we are not rational.
Freud joked that the Irish were "one race for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever." But there is truth in jest.
We are not rational.

So I posted on't here, and the same criticisms of my paranoia were shot back at me - which is reassuring, in a peculiar way.

The first and strongest criticism to Bertie Ahern regaining executive office was:

"Forget about it. People hate Bertie Ahern - they blame him for the recession - they'll never vote for him again."

And I thought that was a pretty resilient point, there's no way people would vote for BA again; look at the sh*t he left us in. But then I recalled the re-election of Micael Lowry TD & Beverly Flynn TD; perennial parochial myopathy will ensure the same cronies are returned to public office ag'in and ag'in.

[Lightning Rod]

Now even the Green party’s government colleagues don’t think the plan for a directly elected Dublin mayor is a good idea. Eibhlin Byrne, a Fianna Fail councillor and one of the favourites to fill the position, has criticised John Gormley’s proposal as “just another layer of bureaucracy” that ignores the need for real reform.

I'm uncomfortable that I find myself agreeing with a member of FF on this mayoral muppet show, but there you go.

[Yixian]

I think Ciarán Cuffe might be interested in running, he's been posting updates about the plans for the Mayoral election and role on his blog for a while: Details of Dublin Mayor Bill published | Ciaran Cuffe - Green Party

[cllr]

Keep the debate going - the following was published in The Irish Times 5th April.

For Ireland’s sake, Dublin needs to run Dublin. The present situation in which an array of disinterested Quangos, largely unaccountable State Bodies and often disconnected Departments, interfere in the affairs of the County without any appreciable knowledge or sympathy for the Region, cannot be allowed to continue. Quite simply Dublin deserves better.

The present situation in which more than 40 bodies have responsibility for Traffic is the most obvious example of this. But there are more.
Dublin Needs a Political Voice. More than perhaps anything else it needs someone who understands how things work or more accurately do not work and who will stand up for the City and County. Someone, who can be a Political advocate, armed with the mandate of direct election. The proposed election of a Mayor for Dublin gives us an opportunity to create that voice. That is why, with all its imperfections and limited powers, I welcome the publication of the “Dublin Mayor and Regional Authority” draft legislation.

Many believe that we need more than the simple introduction of a directly elected Mayor - they are right. A new Mayor can and must drive further reform and a real debate about the future of Dublin.
The draft legislation clarifies some issues. It specifies the County as the area involved. It provides a new structure for the Regional Authority. However, the proposal that the Mayor would Chair the Authority, to whom he or she would be accountable, is I believe a mistake. Similarly the proposal to merge the four existing City and County Development Boards is heading in the right direction, buts its composition and democratic mandate remains unclear. Unless the Public Service agencies are accountable to this body and not equal participating parties, as at present, it will not work.
I have said before that the proposed salary is disgracefully and unnecessarily high. It is a distraction from what should be a debate about the role of a Mayor. There is no need for a E200,000+ salary for the Mayor, just as in all probability there is no need for it for Government Ministers.
The essential financial element is that the Mayor would have the power and resources to do the job, and the commitment to do it effectively. The absence of an independent source of funding is a major flaw in the current proposals and must be addressed in time.

It is clear to anyone interested that our current system of Local Government requires renewal and reform. Clear too is the fact that the various local Councils are directed, unofficially but in reality, by City and County Managers, answerable to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the permanent officials therein. This is key to our present problems and must end.
Two of the arguments used against the introduction of a directly elected Mayor are cost and "celebrity" candidates. In my view both are bogus. Properly structured, a newly elected Mayor, working with the already existing, though enhanced, Dublin Regional Authority, will see the need for many of the existing agencies reduced and or incorporated into the Mayoral structure with significant savings. On the "celebrity" candidate issue, the answer is simple - we live in a Democracy - let the people decide. We have seen recently the outcome from going down the “celebrity” road. I have great faith that the electorate will decide intelligently.
While the detail of any reform is extensive, the essentials are not. I hope that the debate, soon to take place in the Oireachtas, will seek improvements to the Bill along some of the following lines. If we are to have real reform these must include:

• An Independent source of funding - not subject to the whims of the Department of the Environment.
• Reform of the City and County Managers Act, creating the post of Chief Executive Officer - accountable to the relevant Local Authority and recruited by the Public Appointments Commission.
• Real controls and limitations on electoral spending at local elections and an ethical framework that is robust and just.
• Extending the role of the Dublin Regional Authority. The powers and responsibilities of the Authority, working with the Mayor, should include:

1. Land Use Planning and Strategic Development.
2. Traffic and Transport Co-ordination - it would be the Dublin Transport Authority, scandalously abandoned by this Government.
3. Social and Affordable Housing - it would replace the existing Affordable Housing Partnership in the Dublin area.
4. Dublin Bay, Waterways and Mountains.
5. Economic Development and Enterprise.
6. The Assembly would also have a co-ordinating and/or monitoring role in relation to countywide services provided by agencies such as the HSE, VEC, Enterprise Ireland, Policing and relations with other Regional Authorities and relevant bodies etc.

Ireland can be transformed by a reformed Local Government system. It is long past time to call for better Local Government and long past time to "Stand up for Dublin. A campaign for a directly elected Mayor will give us a chance to do just that. I’m ready to play my part.

Dermot Lacey is a Labour Councillor Pembroke-Rathmines a former Lord Mayor of Dublin and Cathaoirleach of the Dublin Regional Authority.

[Glucose]

Waste of space, creating more beaureacratic layers

[slx]

Is it constitutional to provide an extra layer of political representation for one region and not to provide similar in other regions?

It seems to be creating an extra layer of local Government and excluding the rest of the country from that kind of representation.

Surely more than just 1 exec mayor would have to be rolled-out?

This isn't the UK, you can't make-up devolved administrations willy-nilly.

It would seem to me that doing it in one area only goes against the concept of one-person-one vote and equality before the law.

[alonso]

that's the plan slx