The Latest Threat To Plans For A Directly Elected Dublin Metro Mayor
Plans for a directly elected metro mayor for Greater Dublin have been in the long grass for four years. If a motion before Fingal County Council succeeds, they could stay there.
A motion before the county council meeting on 11 June calls on the government to "respect the independent integrity of the four Dublin local authorities" and adds "the empowerment of local democracy is best served by observing the principle of subsidiarity and the strengthening of the powers and functions of each council to meet the needs of their community”.
The motion is proposed by David O'Connor, non-party councillor for Balbriggan.
A non-binding referendum on establishing a powerful metro mayor — equivalent to those in major European cities including London's Sadiq Khan and Manchester's Andy Burnham — was expected in October. However, it is now more likely in 2019. If electors approve the plan the first metro mayor could be in office by 2024.
Existing legislation gives each of the four Dublin authorities — Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council — a veto over holding a referendum.
A Dublin mayor would preside over a population of 2 million, and instantly become a major national political figure.
Analysts have argued that the directly elected mayor plan will take political courage because, for it to work, the mayor would have to be granted economic development, transport and infrastructure powers which Irish local government does not normally have. Such a substantial shift of power from central to local government is opposed by officials at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Cork academic Aodh Quinlivan said. "The half-hearted stalled efforts over the past 17 years are telling," he said, writing for RTE.
