The election of a powerful new mayor for Dublin is to be proposed to the Government following a vote by the Citizens’ Assembly on Saturday.
The Citizens’ Assembly on a directly elected mayor concluded its final plenary meeting at Dublin Castle, after deliberations took place over six months. During a series of ballots that took place throughout the day, members voted in favour of a mayor with responsibility for 15 policy areas including housing, homelessness, community healthcare, transport, the environment and emergency services.
The Assembly also supported holding a plebiscite on the creation of the office before it is established. It also recommended a series of new local government structures to support and sit alongside the new Directly Elected Mayor.
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A full report and recommendations from the Dublin Assembly is now expected to be prepared over the coming months ahead of being sent to the Oireachtas for consideration. Speaking at the conclusion of today’s meeting the Chairman of the Dublin Assembly, Jim Gavin, said “I would like to thank all the members of the Assembly who have given up their time and their weekends since we began our work in April for their commitment, work, and passion to serve the great city and county of Dublin.
“They have thoroughly interrogated and understood our terms of reference to recommend what type of Directly Elected Mayor is appropriate for Dublin. In doing so they have voted to create a powerful and substantial figurehead to lead, represent and be accountable for our capital city, similar to other major international cities."
Mr Gavin said that members of the Assembly have "spoken loud and clear on local government reform." He said: "Their recommendations will represent a major change in how our city is run and will, I believe, transform Dublin for the better.
“This Citizens’ Assembly truly was ‘An Tionol Saoranach’ - a Gathering of Free People. These people, who truly love Dublin, have given their time and effort into this Assembly in order to make this city and county the best possible place to live, work, and raise a family. We are now preparing our formal report and I look forward to engaging with the Houses of Oireachtas on the timely implementation of the recommendations," concluded Mr Gavin.
The Assembly has now concluded its formal meetings that took place over a series of weekends from April-October. Over that time, Assembly members were addressed by a range of local government experts, political scientists, international mayors from cities equivalent in size and scale to Dublin, serving and former politicians, and the CEOs of the four Dublin local authorities among others.
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