Dail told challenge remains to devolve power 'from Dublin' to directly-elected mayor of Limerick

THE MINISTER of State with responsibility for local government has acknowledged it will be a challenge to secure additional powers for the directly-elected mayor of Limerick.

Deputy Peter Burke made his comments in the Dail in response to questions from Limerick city TDs Kieran O'Donnell and Brian Leddin who sought updates on the status of the legislation which is required to give effect to the result of the 2019 plebiscite.

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"I see that legislation is on the priority list. When does the Minister of State expect it to progress? What is the timeframe involved? Pre-legislative scrutiny took place and was signed off on November 11 2021. When does the Minister of State expect the election to take place? The people of Limerick voted and want to see it being delivered," asked Deputy O'Donnell.

In reply, Mr Burke, told the Dail it is a priority to get the legislation through the Oireachtas during the current term.

"It is up to the government to set a date for the election. I see my specific role as ensuring that the office of mayor - including the structure and governance aspects - is put in place so that the government can make its decision on the timing of the election. I assure all Deputies that we are working very hard on the matter. We have it on the priority legislation schedule. Hopefully, we will make significant progress on it this term," he said.

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Deputy Leddin, who was a member of the implementation advisory group before his election to the Dail in 2020, said he remains hopeful an election will take place this year and that the directly-elected mayor will have significant powers.

"He or she should be able to set the priorities of the council, have power over the budget and the spending of the council and have the power to raise revenue. I firmly believe we should build into the legislation a review mechanism to make it better. We need to honour the plebiscite we had in Limerick city and county three years ago," he stated.

Noting the views of the two Limerick TDs, Mr Burke says he believes there will be resistance, in some quarters, to the transfer of powers to the new mayor.

"I encourage deputies to encourage ministers in various departments to give a significant amount of power to the mayor. A big challenge is getting power from Dublin devolved to Limerick. We can see the benefits this can bring in other jurisdictions. I would appreciate any help colleagues can give me in this regard," he said.