A Minister for Dublin would have more power and structures than a directly elected Mayor of Dublin, according to Newstalk Breakfast Host Ciara Kelly.
This comes as more information about the incoming directly elected Mayor of Limerick City is revealed.
The first election for Mayor of Limerick City will take place next June in line with local and European elections, and the successful will be paid €152,000 a year.
Ciara said if the powers of local government are not reduced somewhat, a directly elected mayor won't reach their full potential and make strong decisions.
“I think we’ll create a well-paid role, but we’ll still have county managers and city managers and I think we’ll see a power struggle,” she said.
“It’ll be a titular head and a waste of time.”
'Dublin needs a champion'
Host Shane Coleman said a directly elected mayor is worth doing, if done right, for the sake of Dublin.
“Dublin needs a champion, Dublin needs an advocate, Dublin needs someone with a vision and ambition for the city,” he said.
“Dublin doesn’t have that – there is nobody and it’s largely because people who make decisions in this country largely don’t live in Dublin or live in the city centre.”
Ciara said a Minister for Dublin is more likely to get something done than an elected mayor of Dublin.
“I think that might actually get something done, because the structures already exist,” she said. “Ministerial structures with powers exist.”
'A titular head'
Shane argued a directly elected mayor won’t make things worse – but Ciara said it won’t make things better either, which is not worth €152,000.
“We should set up a devolved local government before we do that and set up the structure, but the mayor themselves isn’t going to be like some kind of Tsar coming in,” she said.
Limerick City. Image: clay harrison / Alamy Stock Photo“I have no optimism that Limerick is going to benefit from this other than having some titular head that they pay a load of money to and a load of infighting down the line.”
Someone like John Moran would be the kind of mayor to “make a noise” and “bang on the table” to advocate for the city, according to Shane.
Ciara argued that the directly elected mayor should not be “personality-driven”.
“The structures should be there to support a mayor if this role is worth having,” she said.
