FF and FG in favour of directly elected mayor
There’s been a mostly positive reaction from the country’s two main political parties to Cork city’s upcoming plebiscite on whether there should be a directly elected mayor or not.
A public information campaign on it was launched recently and coincided with Fine Gael pledging their support for a directly elected mayor.
Speaking at the launch of Fine Gael’s campaign, An Tánaiste Simon Coveney said: “I passionately believe we should vote yes to establish the office of the directly elected mayor. Cork’s Lord Mayor is already a much respected office and voting yes will enhance this.”
Fine Gael’s Director of the Cork Plebiscite, Jerry Buttimer said: “It is essential we fully debate the role and function of the new post and get as many people as possible engaged with the issues ahead of the vote.”
Fianna Fáil, in a statement to the newspaper, said that it supports the roll out of directly elected mayors in cities across Ireland.
The statement added: “However, the government has adopted a hands-off approach to informing the public about the upcoming plebiscites, which could risk the votes being lost. This lazy attitude raises serious questions about the government campaign and whether it really wants to implement the proposals. Fianna Fáil believes that we should embrace directly elected mayors as an internationally proven example of ensuring local decisions are taken at local level.”
The plebiscite will be held on 24 May and under the proposal a directly elected lord mayor would be the chair of the council, have some of the roles and responsibilities currently held by a chief executive and assume the representational role held by the lord mayor/mayor of a council.
If the proposal is approved by a majority of voters, the Minister will submit a report to the Oireachtas with legislative proposals for an election of a Lord Mayor by the people.
The Oireachtas will then consider the legislation.
If the law is passed, a direct election for Lord Mayor of Cork with executive functions will take place.
If the proposal is not approved by a majority of voters in Cork city, the current balance of powers and functions in Cork City Council will not be changed without legislation.