DUBLINERS ARE BEING asked for their thoughts on the long-awaited plan to have a directly elected mayor for the county.

A website, mayor4dublin.ie, went live this morning with three possible options for the new mayoral role and asking for input from people living in the capital.

Under the current system, each of the four local authorities in Dublin has its own mayor, who is generally chosen from the largest political party in the council. The new system would see Dubliners voting for one Mayor who would have powers over the entire county.

The options, which have been put together by the current mayors of the local authorities, are:

• A directly elected mayor who has strong executive powers and who works with a permanent CEO and officials from the local authority, and who would be held to account by an assembly
• A directly elected mayor with strong executive powers who works with a Cabinet – chosen either from elected councillors or from outside politics – and who would be held to account by an assembly.
• A directly elected mayor with a purely representational role – similar to the current position of Dublin Lord Mayor – who would have no executive powers.

Dubliners can submit their thoughts through a survey on the site, or else by printing off a document, filling it in and returning it to their local council office.

All submissions have to be returned on or before 12 October.

Voters are likely to be asked to accept or reject the proposal in a plebiscite vote next May, which will be held at the same time as the local elections.

The four local authorities in Dublin – Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, South Dublin and Fingal County Councils – are putting together a proposal for what the new mayor would do and exactly what powers s/he will have, and are using the public consultation as a guide for the new role.

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