The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Mr. Phil Hogan T.D., today (12th March, 2014) confirmed that the 4 Dublin local authorities will consider the holding of a plebiscite on the issue of a directly elected mayor for the Dublin metropolitan area to be held in conjunction with the local elections next May.
“The issue of establishing a directly elected mayor in Dublin is a complex one that has been the subject of a number of unsuccessful attempts by previous Governments to resolve in recent years,” said Minister Hogan.
“Unlike previous top-down attempts that were not based on any structured consultation, I introduced a bottom-up approach to decide on the matter. The choice of whether or not there will be a directly elected mayor will not be made by me or by Government but will be decided by the local elected members of each of the 4 Dublin local authorities in the first instance, and if they are in favour, then a plebiscite will be put to the people of Dublin,” continued Minister Hogan. He also said “This process is an exciting development in bottom-up democracy, allowing elected members the first say in what optimal governance should be in Dublin. It will also close off the debate of the past decade or more on a directly elected mayor in Dublin.”
The Local Government Reform Act 2014 provides for a plebiscite for the Dublin Metropolitan area to be held, on the basis of a resolution prepared by a Forum of the elected members in the four Dublin local authorities and an accompanying statement setting out the advantages and disadvantages, costs and benefits, etc. of the proposal prepared by the Forum.
The Forum of elected members from the four Dublin local authorities to consider the matter was convened in April 2013 at Minister Hogan’s request. The Forum submitted its proposals to the Minister late last year, and the Minister having considered the proposals has now asked each of the four Dublin local authorities to now decide whether or not the matter should be put to a plebiscite.
While the Forum consulted locally in Dublin on the options for the office of directly elected mayor, they did not consult with Government Departments or national agencies. The proposal is therefore at a mainly conceptual level.
The Minister’s role is to provide, insofar as possible, clarity to the statement prepared by the Forum, so that in turn the Dublin electorate have a clear understanding of the implications of the proposal on which they may be asked to vote. However, the Minister is not empowered to, and indeed has not, adjusted or amended the substance of the proposal received from the Forum.
The Minister stressed that “This proposal and statement are being put forward by the Forum of elected members of the four Dublin local authorities and not by me. My role is to ensure that the statement of the implications of the proposal gives the electorate as much information as possible at this stage on the costs and benefits, advantages and disadvantages of the establishment of an office of directly elected mayor, as proposed by the Forum”.
The resolution and accompanying statement must now be adopted by a majority of elected members in each of the four Dublin local authorities no later than the 31st March 2014, if a plebiscite is to be held. Should any of the four Dublin local authorities fail to pass the resolution, then the plebiscite will not be held. Minister Hogan pointed out “The hurdle for support of the plebiscite is high, because it is necessary to ensure that there is a genuine political consensus amongst the members on what is their view on the best governance arrangements for the office of directly elected mayor and for Dublin. It would not be possible to hold a plebiscite across the 4 authorities if there was a conflict of views between them as to their preferred choice.”
Minister Hogan said “Should the four Dublin local authorities reach a consensus, the electorate will then have their say on a directly elected mayor.”
If a plebiscite is held and if a majority of the votes cast at such a plebiscite are in favour of the proposal, the Minister is required, within 2 years, to either bring forward legislation for the establishment of an office of directly elected mayor, or present reasons to the Oireachtas for not proceeding with the proposal.
Note for Editors
· The Local Government Reform Act 2014 (Part 11) provides for a plebiscite for a directly elected mayor of an authority for the Dublin metropolitan area (i.e. the administrative area of the four Dublin local authorities).
· This plebiscite would be held at the same time as the local elections (23rd May 2014), on the basis of a resolution and an accompanying statement prepared by a Forum of the elected members in the four Dublin local authorities.
· The Forum of elected members was convened at the Minister’s invitation in April 2013 and met on 5 occasions.
· The Forum was chaired by the Lord Mayor of Dublin and comprised 22 members drawn from the elected members of the 4 Dublin local authorities.
· The Forum submitted its proposals (report, resolution and statement) to the Minister on 18th December 2013.
· The resolution and accompanying statement must be adopted by an absolute majority of elected members in each of the four Dublin local authorities no later than the 31st March 2014.
· Should the resolution be passed by all 4 Dublin local authorities, the Forum report and statement will be made available to the public, in advance of the plebiscite being held on 23rd May 2014.
· Dublin City Council would be required, on behalf of the 4 authorities, to publish and distribute, in a manner designed to bring the proposal to the attention of voters, details of the proposal and the accompanying statement not later than 30 days in advance of the poll.
· If all 4 local authorities vote in favour of holding a plebiscite and if a majority of the votes cast at such a plebiscite are in favour of the proposal, the Minister is required, within 2 years, to either
Ø bring forward to both Houses of the Oireachtas proposals for legislation to provide for the establishment of an office of directly elected mayor and other provisions for local governance in the Dublin area; or
Ø present reasons for not proceeding with the proposal.
The main areas of activity which the Forum envisages for the office of directly elected mayor include, inter-alia, executive functions in so far as they relate to the Dublin Metropolitan Area for:
Ø Economic Development
Ø Transport and Traffic
Ø Environment and Waste Management
Ø Tourism/Heritage/Arts/Culture
Ø Planning/Housing
Ø Traffic and Community Policing
Ø Fire Services
Ø Drainage (Flood Protection)
It is envisaged that the office of directly elected mayor would have a strategic role, in terms of national policy in relation to:
Ø Water
Ø Policing (other than for community and traffic matter)
Ø Emergency Service (other than Fire)
Ø Education
Ø Health & Welfare & Social Services
The Forum proposes that the directly elected mayor and his/her appointed cabinet would be responsible to a Dublin Assembly of Councillors, comprising 5 elected members from each of the 4 Dublin local authorities (selected through the D’Hondt system), as well as the Chairs of all 4 Dublin local authorities.
The Forum proposes that the budget of the directly elected mayor and the carrying out of the executive functions required would be funded by a mix of local property tax and rates and existing charges, together with a direct transfer from national government.