Gormley says Dublin mayor election could be in June

MARY MINIHAN in Clane, Co Kildare

Sat, Jan 16, 2010

THE GREEN Party is looking for a celebrity candidate to contest the election for a mayor of Dublin which could take place as early as June, party sources have indicated.

Speaking as the Greens held a ‘think-in’ in Clane, Co Kildare, party leader John Gormley confirmed the heads of a Bill allowing for a directly elected mayor were ready to go to Government.

“We want to ensure that goes through the House in March and that we will be in place for a June election.”

Mr Gormley said the mayor’s wages would be “on a par with a ministerial salary”.

The Greens would put forward a candidate and he hoped it would be a “high-calibre” person, he told the party’s think-in.

In private sessions, Green figures speculated that other parties would run high-profile candidates, whom they suggested could include Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell and Labour TD Ruairí Quinn.

Environmental campaigner and broadcaster Duncan Stewart is understood to have been mentioned as someone who would make a good Green candidate. It was argued that the party needed to find a candidate with a blend of political experience and profile.

Asked to comment on rumours that former taoiseach Bertie Ahern could contest, Mr Gormley said the Green Party would have its own candidate and it was up to Fianna Fáil whom it wanted to put forward.

A spokeswoman for Mr Ahern said he was unavailable for comment last night.

Mr Gormley said the Dublin mayor would have “significant powers” in relation to transport and would sit on the national transportation authority. He or she would also have responsibility for planning, housing “and a number of other areas that are of significance, particularly from a Green perspective”.

He said a framework document outlining the functions of the office would be published shortly. The London mayoralty had been used as a model, although there would be differences: the Dublin mayor would not sit on policing or education boards, for example.

“This is extremely important because for far too long we haven’t had proper local government in this country; we’ve had local administration.”

He said the Dublin mayor would “very much set the agenda for the capital” and the functions of the office would serve as a template for other regions.

Meanwhile, Mr Gormley said he was taking action to prevent what he described as the “abuse” of expenses by councillors attending conferences. City and county councillors will be limited to €4,700 a year under the new regime.

“There was an industry that had been spawned for these conferences which were not really conferences. I saw at first hand where people were simply signing in and not attending these conferences, and that’s not good enough. I mean, that is an abuse.”

Mr Gormley told the ‘think-in’ that an inquiry into what went wrong in the banking system should begin “in the first half of this year”, starting with regulation and then moving on to banking.

“It is absolutely vital that any inquiry is absolutely independent and gets to the root cause of the regulation problems and the banking problems,” Mr Gormley added

© 2010 The Irish Times (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0116/1224262471605.html)



Elected Dublin mayor ‘by June’
By Conor Ryan
Saturday, January 16, 2010

DUBLIN is on course to have a directly elected mayor this summer after legislation was produced to make it possible.

The heads of the bill were circulated this week and Environment Minister John Gormley expects it to be passed through the Dáil in March.

This would facilitate an election in June. And he said he already knew of parties who had approached celebrity candidates to run for the office.

He did not elaborate on which parties had made the move or who the personalities involved were.

Mr Gormley said the Mayor of Dublin will have roles in planning but will not sit on education and policing committees like its counterpart in London. Whoever is elected will be paid the same as a Cabinet minister.

However, Fine Gael’s environment spokesman Phil Hogan criticised the plan and said it was "half-baked".

He said the concept had not been thought through and electing a mayor in June, out-of-sync with other local elections, would confuse voters and depress turnout.

Mr Gormley said the London role evolved over time and accepted different responsibilities as it became more established.

The Green Party leader announced the heads of the new bill in Kildare at his parliamentary party’s think-in.

Meanwhile, rugby pundit George Hook has announced he will run for Mayor of Dublin if Bertie Ahern runs for the office.

During an interview with Labour party councillor and former Dublin Lord Mayor, Dermot Lacey, on his Newstalk show – who is seeking his party’s nomination in the mayoral election – Mr Hook announced: "If your man Bertie throws his hat in the ring for mayor I am telling you now, that I will stand on an anti-Bertie platform against him because Bertie led us into this abyss that we find ourselves in and if he runs for dog catcher I will oppose him," he said.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, January 16, 2010

Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/elected-dublin-mayor-by-june-109792.html#ixzz0cnCWbxgv


I would rather the mayor cover the "Greater Dublin Area" (after all, the National Transport Authority's "Dublin" section also covers Kildare, Meath and Wicklow), with "mayors" for the rest of Leinster, Munster and Connacht-Ulster with similar powers and responsibilities. However, I welcome this regardless and hope whoever it is can make a real difference, especially within regards to public transport.

I can see Labour (very strong in Dublin City) or Fine Gael (also relatively strong in suburban areas) winning it over the other parties. I hope that Bertie Ahern doesn't even run, never mind win, as was suggested frequently last year. :ohno:

At least the candidates would have to be from Dublin which is a step up in itself. Fed up being governed by country people.

Where did you hear that? Stupid prerequisite imho, as long as they have lived here for a good few years and understand what the city needs its grand. (S)he should definetely sit on the policing board though :/

Election of Dublin mayor in June, says Gormley

HARRY McGEE Political Correspondent

Thu, Jan 21, 2010

MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley expects the first direct election for a Dublin mayor to go ahead in June despite the required legislation not being included in the Government’s priority list for this Dáil session.

A spokesman for Mr Gormley said the reason for the Bill not being included in the programme of legislation for the spring session of the Dáil was “technical” and said the Bill would be published before Easter.

He said the target date for the elections remained June and Mr Gormley had said it was “his hope” that the elections would go ahead then.

The “technical” reason for the Bill’s non-inclusion in the programme was that the Heads of the Bill had first to be formally approved by Cabinet.

The legislation had not reached that stage yet. The Heads of the Bill had been circulated within Government for observation and would be brought to the Government for approval in the coming weeks, the spokesman said.

Once approved by Government, the Bill would go to the Attorney General for drafting and the Bill would be published, debated and enacted.

The spokesman said he was not in a position to give a schedule for the legislation other than to say that the right processes would be in place to facilitate an election for a directly-elected mayor of Dublin to take place this year, hopefully in June.

The proposed mayor of Dublin will be for the entire Dublin region, encompassing the four local authority areas.

Each of the councils will retain their own mayors and in the case of Dublin City Council, its own lord mayor.

The powers of the new mayor will be executive.

When announcing the initiative in Mayo 2009, Mr Gormley said the mayor would be responsible for establishing strategic policy for land-use, waste management, water services and housing across Dublin.

The new mayor will also chair the Dublin Transport Authority. All four local authorities will be required to ensure they comply with plans, strategies and policies that fall within the mayor’s remit.

Opposition parties have attacked the proposals for the lack of detailed information on the roles, responsibilities and powers of the mayor.

© 2010 The Irish Times (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0121/1224262780990.html/)


I'd prefer they abolish the current "Lord Mayor" and county "Mayor" roles, to be honest. They don't do much as it is except drain money.

Ahern hints at run for mayor if post wields genuine power



Saturday January 23 2010

FORMER Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday indicated that he may run for Mayor of Dublin, if the position is given strong executive control of the city -- including the power to raise taxes.

Environment Minister John Gormley has said that he hopes to hold the first poll for a directly elected mayor of the city and county in June.

It is still unclear what kind of powers the mayor would have but legislation on the position is expected to be introduced in the coming weeks.

Mr Ahern has long been linked to the post, which will cover all the local authority areas in the capital -- Fingal, South Dublin, Dun Laoghaire and Dublin City.

He apparently ruled himself out yesterday, before leaving the door open.

When asked, he initially said he would not run and said the position, which is expected to come with a salary of more than €200,000, didn't attract him.

However, he added: "If I saw a mayor with full, full executive powers, which I don't think from what I'm hearing I'm going to see, then you'd think about it."

Mr Ahern said that the proposed Mayor of Dublin needed the power to raise taxes.

"If you continue with the system where the mayor has to go down to the department to get the money, there's no point in having the mayor.

"I was a mayor 24 years ago, with a chain around my neck and I'd no powers. I don't need to do that again," he said, referring to his time as Lord Mayor of Dublin City.

Evidence

Mr Ahern -- who will likely be called before the banking inquiry -- yesterday declined to volunteer to give his evidence in public.

The inquiry will do most of its business behind closed doors and will be set up as a commission of investigation.

Under the laws that allow for a commission to be established, witnesses can volunteer to give their evidence in public.

Mr Ahern said yesterday he would appear before the inquiry if he was called and said he had nothing to fear from it.

He said yesterday he would do "whatever I have to do" and he had "no problem giving evidence in public inquiries, as you know. I am a taskmaster at that," he joked -- presumably, in classic Bertie style, he meant to say master.

"We all know what happened. The banks borrowed money on the open market in the short term. As soon as Lehmans' went, they had to pay that money up and they hadn't got it to pay."

Mr Ahern, who was launching the Holiday World show in Dublin, also said that a generation of developers, who may be needed in future, could be lost.

"The issue is this -- maybe they did this, maybe they did that, maybe they did the other, but they also employed 200,000 people and everyone was doing well in that.

"Sooner rather than later, we will need a group to take that on again and a lot of people ... will not be in that position again, or won't want to."

He also defended tax breaks for developers, after figures yesterday revealed that they cost the taxman €800m.

Mr Ahern said infrastructure was "disastrous" before they were brought in. He gave the quays in Dublin as an example of an area that had benefited from the breaks.

- Fiach Kelly Political Correspondent

Irish Independent

including the power to raise taxes


WTF!?

Ironic in a way, since he doesn't pay them himself... :ohno:

Dublin mayoral elections face delay

Friday, 5 February 2010 16:03

Dublin may not get an elected Mayor until the autumn and not June as predicted previously, according to Environment Minister John Gormley.

Business leaders in the capital have expressed disappointment at the continuing delay in setting up the post, which they say is needed urgently.

Dublin businesses say they had a bad 2009 and are fearful for the future.

Peter Brennan, President of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, says the problem is that nobody is responsible for the city politically.

The result is that Dublin has slipped in terms of competitiveness compared to other city regions from fifth to 22nd place over the past six years.

He said Dublin is now a 'third division' city instead of being in the 'premiership' where it belongs.

The new mayor would have powers over all four Dublin authorities in housing, waste management and water services.

With major transport projects like the Metro North planned, the mayor would also chair the Dublin Transport Authority.

But former city Lord Mayor Cllr Dermot Lacey (Lab) says there is opposition to the new post from a 'coalition of Fianna Fáil backbenchers and bureaucrats' who want to 'stymie' Dublin.

However, Environment Minister John Gormley says the heads of the bill on Local Government Reform are going to Cabinet next Tuesday, and that Dublin will have a directly elected mayor like London and other cities later this year.

He admitted that this election may not happen in June as previously announced but it would be no later than the autumn.

Story from RTÉ News:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0205/dublin_mayor.html


...I'm not surprised at all.

Draft law to elect Dublin mayor approved

DEAGLÁN DE BRÉADÚN, Political Correspondent

Wed, Feb 10, 2010

THE GOVERNMENT approved draft legislation for a directly-elected mayor of Dublin with “strong executive powers” at a Cabinet meeting yesterday.

A spokesman for the Green Party said June was “still the target date” for the poll but it may be later.

“The office of Mayor will have strong executive powers in areas of concern to citizens and that includes transport,” the spokesman added.

The Bill is likely to be published next week, according to sources close to Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment, John Gormley.

It is understood that the holder of the office will have powers to instruct local authority managers on policy. He or she will work in consultation with the four elected councils in the greater Dublin area: Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal, South Dublin and Dublin City Council.

The model for the new office will be the directly-elected mayoralty of London. Under the legislation, the Dublin mayor is expected to have authority to generate policies on planning, waste, housing, water and transport.

Senior sources indicated that the Bill would give the mayor authority to direct the chief executives of the various councils to carry out these policies.

However, the mayor would act in close consultation with the elected councillors, whose term of office continues until 2014.

Sources indicated that the office would have real power and they played down concerns that the election would be nothing more than a popularity contest for celebrities. In line with the London experience, powers would accrue to the office over a period of time.

Mr Gormley is finalising a White Paper on local government reform which is expected to be published before Easter.

Fianna Fáil members have expressed concern at a possible reduction in the powers of local government. An internal party committee consisting of three senior Ministers – Noel Dempsey, Batt O’Keeffe and Éamon Ó Cuív – and Chief Whip Pat Carey is compiling a set of proposals for presentation to Mr Gormley and the Government.

© 2010 The Irish Times (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0210/1224264112200_pf.html)


...and...


Call for outline on lord mayor proposal

MICHAEL O'REGAN

Wed, Feb 10, 2010

LABOUR LEADER Eamon Gilmore has asked the Government to provide Opposition parties with the outline of legislation which would pave the way for the election of a lord mayor of Dublin.

He said that it was in the public interest that they know what kind of post the Government had in mind.

“In the interest of electoral fair play, if there is to be an election for this office some time in 2010, it would be important to have the heads of the Bill so that we can at least see the job description for the post which would be useful for all political parties in discussing it with prospective candidates,” he said.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen said he would ask Minister for the Environment John Gormley about his plans in that regard.

He confirmed the heads of the Bill had been approved by the Cabinet earlier.

Mr Cowen said that the Programme for Government stated that the election would be held this year.

“The Minister has indicated his hope that he would like to have it in the middle of June,” he added. “At the moment, that depends on the passage of the legislation and the work being done on it.”

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny also asked about the progress of the legislation, observing that “it is not that I have a recently freed candidate for this position”.

© 2010 The Irish Times (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0210/1224264112027.html)


In the interests of saving money, they should hold the Dublin South by-election on the same day, now... ;)

Businesses need a strong Dublin mayor
15 August 2010

For Dublin, a mayor with the appropriate budgetary controls and oversight would ensure that local authority costs would be brought under control, writes Peter Brennan.

Businesses and their representative bodies, such as the Dublin Chamber, rarely take a strong interest in the structure of local government, instead leaving it to be debated among public representatives and political scientists.

However, compelling evidence from the European Commission, the OECD and the National Competitiveness Council points to the importance of city regions in determining the competitiveness and growth of national economies.

Businesses are now asking quest ions as to how effective our local authorities are and whether we are getting value for the rates we pay.

Local government in Dublin is big business, with the four local authorities employing some 10,000 staff with an annual budget of about €3 billion.

These local authorities provide many similar services in areas such as waste, water and housing, resulting in duplication (actually a quadruplication) of some functions. It is Dublin’s citizens and businesses that foot the bill for these inefficiencies through local rates and charges, income tax, Vat and other taxes.

Current expenditure of the Dublin local authorities is almost €1.7 billion, of which 37 per cent, or €625 million, is funded by commercial rates.

This is well above the national average of 27 per cent. The recent Local Government Efficiency Review Group report assessed our local government system and identified cost savings and additional charges of a mere 7 per cent of the total cost of running local authorities.

Decisions on cutting Dublin’s cost were postponed and will the subject of a separate investigation.

Dublin Chamber welcomes the government’s commitment to create the office of a directly-elected mayor for Dublin, with strong executive powers over Dublin’s four local authorities. Enabling legislation for a directly-elected mayor is expected to be published in October, with the possibility of an election next spring.

Directly-elected mayors have proved their value internationally. Through their strong executive powers, they transform the cities they serve, putting them on the map and making a real tangible difference to the lives of their citizens. Mayors such as Michael Bloomberg of New York, who has successfully promoted the city’s economy; Richard Daley of Chicago turned his city into a contender for the title of the world’s greenest city; Bertrand Delanoe of Paris has created beaches along the banks of the Seine and made Velib free bikes as synonymous with Paris as red double decker buses are with London.

In London, the first directly-elected mayor, Ken Livingstone, pioneered ambitious and agenda-setting policies and his successor, Boris Johnson, is championing the London Olympics.

For Dublin, a mayor with the appropriate budgetary controls and oversight would ensure that local authority costs would be brought under control and only services that were ‘‘fit for purpose’’ would be delivered.

There has been no leadership to reduce the cost base, while improving the services provided by local authorities in Dublin because no single body has overall responsibility at a political level for the Dublin City region. The Fingal mayor is concerned with Fingal, the South Dublin mayor with South Dublin and so on.

When budgets or resources are tight, projects - such as park and ride facilities - where the benefits fall in another local authority area are the first to go.

Yet the Dublin City region is the driver of growth for the Irish economy as a whole. It accounts for over three out of every ten jobs, 47 per cent of Ireland’s services sector and nearly half of Ireland’s tax revenue.

Clearly a national recovery is heavily dependent on a Dublin economic recovery. The importance of city regions to their national economies is not unique to Dublin and Ireland.

Internationally, city regions offer a concentration of economic activity and the pool of skills and resources that provide a natural environment for companies to grow. The harsh reality is that, if Dublin grows, so does the rest of economy.

The political debate on the draft legislation for a directly-elected mayor shows the possibility of real change in local government, with better services at a lower cost being a real prospect. Dublin Chamber has met minister John Gormley to articulate how the draft legislation could be strengthened in a way that would lead to real change and promote greater operational efficiency in the running of the city region.

With the country facing one of the most challenging periods in its history, the commitment to have an accountable mayor with a real vision who can run local government in a way that places Dublin on the international map is vital.

Dublin Chamber believes that the election of a mayor with real executive powers could be the catalyst for positioning Dublin as a location of choice for international investors and a hub of economic activity.

For this vision to work, we need a much more streamlined local authority system. Otherwise the mayor will become another layer of bureaucracy, which nobody wants.

What businesses and citizens deserve is a leader who will promote the Dublin City region and run it the way a modern city should be run, and who is accountable for spending decisions, cost effective service delivery and local taxation. Minister Gormley should bring forward a transformational agenda for local authorities and allow Dublin’s mayor to have far more power and authority than is currently envisaged.

Peter Brennan is president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce

Hopefully he will be sufficiently powerful. It is a logical development, lets hope corrupt self interest doesnt get in the way.