A SURVEY CONDUCTED by the Green Party has found that 30 councillors in Dublin have not decided whether or not they will approve a proposal to have a directly-elected mayor.
In the elections this year, Dublin voters will decide whether or not this is something they want and if the plan is approved, it would mean transferring powers from local authorities and State bodies, to the mayor’s office. However, this plebiscite can only take place if it also has the support of more than half of the councillors.
In its survey, the Green Party asked all 129 councillors if they were in favour or against the proposal. 43 declared they were in favour, seven said they would be likely to support such a vote, 12 were opposed to the idea and 30 were undecided. A further 37 were “unreachable after several attempts”.
Today the party said the results demonstrate the “confusion on this subject, with many specifying that they were unsure what Minister Hogan was intending to propose”.
Party leader Eamon Ryan accused the minister of leaving “a lot of people guessing on what his plans are”.
“Time and again councillors we spoke to said they were waiting to see what Minister Hogan was going to propose, and the time for debate is running out,” he said today. “The people of Dublin are being short-changed by the Minister and denied their democratic right to debate with each other and their councillors over what type of mayor they want, or if they actually want a mayor at all.”
He added that the failure to inform councillors is ” disrespectful to both local government and to the people who elected them as their representatives”.
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