People of Limerick asked what they expect of their directly elected Mayor
The Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Councillor Michael Collins, and the Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, Mr Peter Burke TD, today (Friday 10 July) launched a public consultation exercise to ask the people of Limerick what they want from their directly elected Mayor.
On 24 May 2019, the people of Limerick voted to be the first county in Ireland where people will directly elect their mayor. We are now asking the people to think about the potential in that role for Limerick and to tell us what they would like of their new Mayor,
said Mayor Collins.
I am delighted that one of my first acts as Minister is to help launch this exercise in public participation, giving individuals and communities across the City and County of Limerick the opportunity to help shape the new role of directly elected mayor in advance of mayoral elections planned for next year,” said Minister Burke.
This public consultation exercise was commissioned by the Independent Advisory Group formed to advise the Minister on the establishment of a directly elected mayor. It was developed by Professor Maura Adshead and her team in the Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick.
Since it was established at the end of 2019, the Independent Advisory Group has been working to shape a new local authority with a directly elected mayor that will deliver fresh possibilities for Limerick City and County. The Group will report to the Minister later this summer.
The Chairman of the Implementation Advisory Group, Limerick-man and former career diplomat and Secretary General to the President, Mr Tim O’Connor, welcomed the launch of this public consultation.
The Implementation Advisory Group has commissioned the University of Limerick to create a forum for people to engage with our work. The COVID-19 emergency has meant that this will be no ordinary public consultation. An exciting new digital way of asking the public what they want has been especially created for this exercise by UL. It will be visual, interactive and provides real-time feedback. People can participate as part of a community group, with their family and friends, or as individuals,
said Mr O’Connor.
Limerick has a reputation for being at the forefront of innovation and, once again, together with our partners in UL have developed a new and exciting way for people to have their say,” said the Mayor.
We want the people of Limerick to be involved and invested in this major reform project, which offers huge potential for their City and County. We encourage everyone in Limerick to participate in shaping this new role of Mayor,
added the Minister.