Dublin Mayor Bill

DRA delegation meeting with Meeting with Minister Gormley – Summary Report

Comments of Minister Gormley

Minister Gormley stated that the Dublin Mayor and Regional Authority Bill
will go before the Cabinet on Tuesday 20/7/10 and will be published
thereafter.

He commented that the DEM (Directly Elected Mayor) has the potential to be good for Dublin City and he stated that the main purpose of the DEM is to empower an individual to manage certain issues in the Dublin region and it is important that the legislation for this is right. In this regard, the views of councillors to this proposal are important especially on issues such as structure, etc. He wanted to have constructive engagement, especially with the DRA, and stated that any good ideas brought forward will be taken on board.

The Minister then stated that changes to the local government structures are on the way and the following issues need to be addressed:

– The position of the 4 current Lord Mayor/Mayors of LAs, are these
required?
– The need for CEOs, not Managers, who are answerable to the elected
representatives
– The issue of political representation and balance within the country

He stated that local authority Managers are all powerful at present and
this must change and the upcoming Efficiency Review will look at
City/County Manager’s role and numbers of Directors of Services and where savings can be made in these areas. The existing budgets will mean much leaner local authorities and he stated that the White Paper will show a change in make-up of local authorities.

He raised the issue of a 5-year Cathaoirligh running in line with a 5-year
DEM and considered that this could give rise to competition.

Following comments raised regarding the selection procedures for Managers, the Minister stated that he could look at providing elected members with job description, selection criteria, etc., for post of Managers, etc., and he could look at placing an elected representative on the interview panels for these posts.

As a final statement, the Minister stated that the legislation will be
published soon and he would welcome any further comments from the DRA and would also make himself available, if necessary, to meet further on this matter.

16th July, 2010