ULI Ireland’s latest event was a very interesting debate on whether the Dublin region would benefit from having a directly elected mayor – a very timely and important discussion for Ireland’s cities with the citizens of Limerick due to vote on this very issue on 7 June.

The well attended event took the form of two panel discussions with industry experts and stakeholders. In her opening address, Marie Hunt, Chair of ULI Ireland said that:

“The need to reform local government has been a dominant theme in Ireland for decades now and there is an assumption that having a directly elected mayor will be a panacea to all ills, but will it? We all want a move liveable city with better services but moving to a directly elected mayor model would be a radical shift for Dublin and a very significant reform of local Government in this country that would have huge repercussions. While there are merits to having a directly elected mayor we need to proceed carefully and ensure that we consider how it would work in practice”.

Professor Deiric O’Broin, Professor of Public Policy Practice at Dublin City University set the scene, after which the first panel, chaired by Associate Professor of Political Science at Dublin City University Eoin O’Malley took to the stage. The audience heard from Stephen Browne, Head of Public Affairs at Dublin Chamber of Commerce who discussed the topic from the point of view of businesses in the city; AnnMarie Farrelly, Chief Executive of Fingal County Council and Dr Aodh Quinlivan, Director of the Centre for Local and Regional Governance at University College Cork.

The second panel was chaired by Alice Charles, Director of Cities, Planning and Design at ARUP who spoke at the outset about her extensive experience of mayoral systems in other jurisdictions before chairing the debate between Dublin City Council Chief Executive Richard Shakespeare and former Taoiseach and former Dublin Lord Mayor Bertie Ahern. Joining this panel was Kevin Slocombe, Chief of Staff to the former Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees.

Those in attendance were then offered an opportunity to contribute to the discussion. Attendees agreed that the forum was very interesting and thought-provoking – in keeping with the ULI’s ambition to facilitate an open exchange of ideas, information, and experience.