Fianna Fail and Fine Gael 'afraid' of vote for directly elected Dublin mayor
Dubliners have so far been denied the opportunity to directly vote on having a democratically elected mayor.
It’s now been three years since the Final Report of the Dublin Citizens’ Assembly was released. One major recommendation from this report is the creation of the position of a powerful new mayor with wide-ranging powers and responsibilities similar to other mayors in international cities.
This position would see the new mayor address 15 specific areas including housing, homelessness, community healthcare, transport, the environment and emergency services, as well as having fiscal autonomy to raise and spend funds locally. The fact that this new role has yet to be created was criticised by Green Party Councillor Ray Cunningham in a video on his social media pages.
Cllr Cunningham blasted the government for inaction these past three years to trigger a vote on whether or not Dubliners wish to decide on their own mayor. He claims that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have avoided following through on the Citizen’s Assembly recommendation as they fear they would lose.
“Three years ago, the Dublin Citizens' Assembly released its Final Report. They recommended that Dubliners should be allowed to elect their own mayor. That mayor should have the power to deal with problems like housing and homelessness, climate change, tourism, the arts and a range of other things that are important to the life of the city,” Cllr Cunningham said.
“They said that the mayor should be able to raise funds to spend in the city and the mayor should be able to meet with state agencies and have the right to consult with ministers on issues that affect Dublin. And they said that the people of Dublin should get to vote on whether or not all of this happens.
“The government has had three years to call that vote on whether to elect a major and they haven’t done it. The law actually says that the council could call the vote on electing the mayor but although the law was passed the government refused to put it into effect.
“The reason is obvious, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael lost the mayoral election in Limerick and they would lose the election in Dublin too. They don’t want the people of Dublin to elect the mayor but they’re afraid to come out and say so. So the report from the Citizen’s Assembly has been quietly dropped and Dubliners won’t get a chance to discuss the idea and they won’t get a chance to vote on it.”
Debate around whether or not Dublin needs a democratically elected mayor has raged for decades, but there has never been a vote on whether it is something citizens actually want. Currently, there is the position of Lord Mayor of Dublin City Council , but this is a ceremonial position separate from the proposed executive mayor with extra powers.
Another reason cited for the government shelving plans to introduce a directly elected mayor was that it could provide a springboard for controversial independent figures, such as Conor McGregor , to take office. According to the Sunday Times , the election of independent candidate John Moran as Limerick's first directly elected mayor has only amplified these concerns.
When asked about the government’s plans for a democratically elected mayor in Dail Eireann debate in April 2025, the written response from Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne TD was as follows:
“The 2022 Dublin Citizens’ Assembly was asked to consider the type of directly elected mayor and local government structures best suited for Dublin. Its final report was presented to the then Taoiseach in January 2023. In June 2023, the Houses of the Oireachtas referred the report to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for consideration of its recommendations and the Committee reported back in December 2023.
“The Citizens’ Assembly Report proposed the holding of a plebiscite on the question of a Dublin Mayor. While supporting such an approach, the Committee’s Report recommended that a plebiscite be held only after a General Scheme of a Bill for a Dublin Mayor was developed so that there is full clarity on the detail of the proposal.
“The Programme for Government commits to supporting the office of the Directly Elected Mayor of Limerick and considering further plebiscites in Dublin and other cities. The Dublin Citizens' Assembly report and recommendations, and the Committee's Report, are under consideration by my Department.”
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