UCC lecturer appointed to expert group
A UCC lecturer has been helping to guide citizens who are to decide proposals on the future of local governance in Dublin.
Dr Aodh Quinlivan of UCC’s Department of Government and Politics has been appointed to the expert advisory group of Ireland’s newest Citizens’ Assembly, which met a number of times last month.
He will be supporting the Dublin Assembly, convened to consider the type of directly elected mayor and local government structures best suited for Dublin, and to bring forward proposals in that regard.
There are 80 members in total on the Assembly – an independent Chairperson Jim Gavin, 67 randomly-selected members of the public living in Dublin city and county, and 12 councillors from across the four local authorities in the capital.
Dr Quinlivan is one of four members of the expert advisory group, whose job is to guide the process and assist the Assembly members in their deliberations.
He said: “It is a tremendous honour to be asked to serve on this group, but it is also daunting as we have a huge volume of work to get through. Not only will we be considering the strengths and weaknesses of the current model of local government in Dublin but also the challenges of a directly elected mayor, the costings of various proposals, and the functions which might be transferred from central government.
“We started with an introductory session in Dublin Castle on 9 April, followed by a full weekend session in Malahide last Saturday and Sunday. Jim Gavin kicked off the session with a Chairman’s address and Roddy Doyle spoke to the assembly members about what it means to be a Dubliner. I delivered presentations on both days about the Irish local government system and the concept of a directly elected mayor.”
The introduction of directly elected mayors has been a recurring theme in debates over Irish local government reform in recent years. In May 2019, plebiscites were held in Cork, Limerick and Waterford on whether to introduce a directly elected mayor in these areas – however only in Limerick did voters approve the proposal. Voters in Cork rejected the idea by 50.7% to 49.3%.
Another UCC lecturer, Dr Clodagh Harris, will be offering expert guidance on the process of deliberative democracy to the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, chaired by Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin. At the end of both assemblies, reports and recommendations will be presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas for consideration.