On June7th, Limerick will lead with one of the most important reforms of local government since the foundation of the state when we go to the polls to choose our directly elected mayor (or DEM) for the first time. Finally, we will have a mayor directly accountable to the people of the area they represent. We have to make this count. You can help a lot.
The campaign for the exective DEM in Limerick has been a long and hard fought one. DEM's were proposed in 2001 and 2010 legislation but never made it through political opposition. There was also less enthusiasm for Limerick's DEM and less understanding of the huge potential it brings to Limerick back at the beginning of our new campaign in 2019. But gradually more and more people have come one board. Indeed some who sat on the fence or may even have been opposed in 2019 are now so enthusiastic they are even being talked about as potential candidates for the role.
How we got this far is an exercise in the power of people's voices when they are prepared to work hard and push together for change.
DEM (directly elected mayor) Explained
The current mayor is selected for us by a majority of the councillors from among the councillors for a one year term and has a largely ceremonial and ambassadorial role.
By contrast, the executive DEM will instead be elected by direct vote of the people of Limerick and serve for a term of five years. Long enough to drive home some real change for Limerick.
The exact rules governing the office are being set right now by the Oireachtas in a process led by Minister of State Kieran O’Donnell.
What we know already is the mayor we elect will not just be an ambassador for Limerick but will need to set the priorities on our behalf when spending a budget of over 1 billion euros of which nearly 300 million is spent directly in Limerick. They need to make sure the day to day services are handled well and lead on many other multi-million euro projects for infrastructure critical for the future, Most importantly, they will steer the course for the development of Limerick for decades to come and lobby to get the resources for this from central government. They will be responsible for important companies like Limerick 2030 and the new Limerick Tourism DAC. It is the DEM who will drive the process for the next county development plan for Limerick setting the direction of travel for our country well into the 2030's.
DEM Plebiscite of 2019
The Story of the DEM reform began in 2019 when in a plebiscite, the question was put to the voters of Cork, Waterford and Limerick whether they would like to have a directly elected mayor. Only Limerick voted yes.
Watch results and supporters at the count: Supporters at 2019 Plebiscite Results
This was a result of a wide ranging campaign led by many NGO’s including LiveableLimerick of which I was chair at the time. The story of the campaign was well captured in the Business Post.
Many people mistakenly thouught that this was just an issue for Limerick City. Recognising that the issue was not just one for the city, LiveableLimerick secured support for a debate in Newcastle West between John Moran and Independent Councillor Emmett O’Brien which was sponsored by and live streamed by the LimerickPost.
I also agreed to do a successful live podcast with Blindboy Boatclub of the Rubberbandits and Nigel Dugdale, a #liveableLimerick supporter and local Limerick influencer in Dolan’s Music Venue.
LiveableLimerick also ran well attended informational evenings within city locations like the Commercial Bar at which Stephen Keogh of Sellors Solicitors explained the technical legal aspects of the proposal and answered questions from the audience.
Other members of our committee and other supporters participated in a wide range of public debates on social and traditional media and campaigned widely.
The result was a victory for the DEM proposal. Limerick voted Yes by an almost 5% margin. 52.4% (38,122 votes) voted Yes for the plan and 47.6% voted to reject the proposal.
The role of advocates played in securing the result was well recognised at the time.
Implementation Group Report
A very comprehensive report was produced in October 2020 by an implementation group appointed in December 2019 and ably chaired by Limerickman Tim O’Connor.
This report contained 69 Recommendations many of which are reflected in the proposed legislation. The process of the report preparation and aspirations for the group was explained at the time by Minister for State John Paul Phelan and Tim O’Connor.
Here's a link to a short video from Minister Phelan and Tim O'Connor.
Limerick Leader Video and Report on Implementation Report
And here's a link to their report:
Joint Oireachtas Report
This Report and the heads of the legislation so called were reviewed by the Joint Oireachtas Housing Committee who in 2021 produced a report with 17 recommendations.
John Moran appeared as a witness before the committee along with Professor Deiric Ó Broin, School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Dr Eoin O’Malley, School of Law and Government, Dublin City University and Ms Dee Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, Limerick Chamber.
Here's a link to a pdf of the Report:- Oireachtas Committee Report on DEM Report
We Want our Vote Petition
Frustrations continued on Shannonside at delays in Dublin to pass legislation to allow an election to occur despite early promises that the election would take place no later than the end of 2021.
A wide ranging group of supporters arranged a petition with 1000+ signatories under the banner “We Want our Vote” in early 2022, pointing out that 1000 had passed since the plebiscite.
Among the lead campaigners were Mary FitzGerald of the Woodlands Hotel in Adare, Stephen Kinsella, Professor of UL, Linda Ledger, CEO of St Munchin’s Community Centre and John Moran.
Here are videos from the main supporters of the petition:
Mary Fitzgerald, Woodlands and Linda Ledger, St Munchin's Limerick Post Video 1 from Launch
Stephen Kinsella, UL and John Moran, LiveableLimerick - Limerick Post Video 2 from Launch
Enabling Legislation
Finally, legislation was published and moved through the houses of the Oireachtas for an election in June 2024.
Details on the legislative process can be found here: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2023/63/
In the words of Minister of State Kieran O’Donnell who has responsibility for the passage of the bill:-
“The main aim of this Bill is to establish a new office of directly elected mayor for Limerick City and County Council and to provide for the public to directly elect a person to that office.
The Bill provides that most but not all executive functions currently performed by the chief executive of Limerick City and County Council will transfer to the mayor. Some functions, in terms of what was put to the people at plebiscite, are retained with the CEO. There will be new functions for the office of mayor and structural changes for governance of the area of Limerick City and County Council are provided for.”
The main provisions of the bill are described by him in the same Seanad debates. Read more here Limerick DEM Seanad Debates
What does it all mean for Limerick:-
Limerick alone will now get the right in June 2024 to choose the mayor the voters of Limerick want to lead the entire county for the next five years. The success of this pilot project will likely determine the success of this reform and whether or not it is adopted by other counties in future years, including by Dublin.
There will be many aspects to that role and the importance of the change is still captured in this article I penned as part of the 2019 campaign:-
My article….. Why should I not have the right to vote for whom I want? (limerickpost.ie)