Proposed Plebiscite on the Office of Directly Elected Mayor for the Dublin Metropolitan Area.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Copied below is the letter from Phil Hogan, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government regarding the proposed plebiscite on the office of Directly Elected Mayor for the Dublin Metropolitan Area.
The proposed plebiscite is not to decide for or against a directly elected mayor for Dublin but rather for a particular type of directly elected mayor with specific powers and responsibilities based on a resolution and statement. The Minister has not included any costings on the office of mayor, the cabinet or the assembly which would be added on top of an already expanding, costly and unwieldy local government system in our capital city and county.
13 March 2014.
Councillor Kieran Dennison,
Mayor of Fingal,
Fingal County Council,
County Hall, Main Street, Swords,
Co. Dublin.
Forum Statement on Proposed Plebiscite on the Office of Directly Elected Mayor for the Dublin Metropolitan Area.
Dear Mayor,
I refer to the submission of the 18th December 2013 of the Lord Mayor of the City of Dublin, which included, inter alia, the deliberations and conclusions of the Forum of elected members of the four Dublin authorities, which was convened at my request in April 2013.
Following receipt of the Forum report, draft resolution and statement, I have, as empowered under section 65(2) of the Local Government Reform Act 2014 (the Act), consulted with my Cabinet colleagues and their respective Government Departments to ensure that there is clarity in the form of the proposed resolution and the wording of the statement, so that in turn the Dublin electorate have a clear understanding of the implications of the proposal of the Forum on which they may be asked to vote in a plebiscite.
Having had regard to the report and draft resolution submitted by the Forum and the subsequent consultations carried out, I am of the opinion that, as provided for in section 66(1) of the Act, the resolution as attached should be put before each of the four Dublin local authorities, no later than the 31st March 2014.
The Act provides that the proposal for the establishment of an office of directly elected mayor and related governance arrangements to be put in a plebiscite are those based on a resolution and statement prepared by the Forum and accordingly no adjustment has been made to the substance of the proposal.
As provided for under section 66(1)(c) of the Act, I have provided additional information, whereby the statement as attached is designed to give the electorate the best available information on the costs and benefits, advantages and disadvantages of the establishment of an office of directly elected mayor, as proposed by the Forum.
Accordingly, Fingal County Council may put the resolution, in the form attached, together with the accompanying statement, the wording of which I approved, to a vote of the Council, no later than the 31st March 2014. If the Council decides to put a resolution to the elected members in line with section 66 of the Act, you are requested to inform me of the outcome of the vote at your earliest convenience.
Yours sincerely,
Phil Hogan, T.D.,
Minister for the Environment,
Community and Local Government
Cc: Fingal County Manager