Saturday 10 September 2022 – The Citizens’ Assembly on a Directly Elected Mayor for Dublin concluded its penultimate meeting this afternoon, where members discussed recommendations on the powers, structure, and funding for a Directly Elected Mayor for Dublin that they will ultimately vote on at the Assembly’s final meeting in early October.
The Assembly met under the chairmanship of Jim Gavin and heard from members of its Expert Advisory Group who recapped the plenary meetings to date and the key issues emerging around the type of directly elected mayor that the Assembly is due to recommend.
The meeting also included extensive discussion among members as they debated these issues and the structure of the final ballot paper that they will vote on at the Assembly’s concluding meeting. Following that meeting, a final report and recommendations will be drawn up and presented to the Oireachtas by the end of the year.
The issues that will be included in the final ballot paper will focus on four areas:
- The specific powers that will be devolved to the directly elected mayor
- The structure that will be put in place to support the mayor and these new functions
- The funding model to deliver the new office and its remit
- Related issues including whether there will be a plebiscite to endorse the new role, procedures for removal of the mayor, and the nomination procedure
Following today’s meeting the ballot paper will be formalised by the Assembly Secretariat and presented to members at the final meeting to be held in St Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle, on Saturday 1st October.
Speaking about today’s meeting, Chairman Jim Gavin said, “We are now in the championship minutes of the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly. Members who have so graciously given their time since April are shaping the final recommendations that we will vote on next month.
“Having been asked to consider the type of directly elected mayor that Dublin should have it is now clear that the central issues surround the funding, scope, and structure of the role. These are what we will decide on at our final meeting.
“In doing so we are trying to make Dublin the best possible place to live, work, and raise a family – an objective that is shared by all members of the Assembly as well as the public representatives, members of the public and groups that have participated in the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly so far.”
ENDS
For more info contact Q4 Public Relations: Lorna Gardiner, lorna@q4pr.ie, 086 076 1374 / Ronan Farren ronan@q4pr.ie 087 934 0386
