A FORMER Mayor of Limerick believes that local government has been “somewhat diluted” in recent years and he wants to see it strengthened.
However, Fianna Fáil councillor Michael Collins believes that the answer to this problem will come next year in the shape of a Directly Elected Mayor (DEM).
Cllr Collins believes this is the way forward for Limerick City and County, and will make the local authority, which he described “the first line of defence”, stronger.
“We were the first county to have a plebiscite where we want to have an elected mayor. Now things are quiet at the moment, we are not hearing much about it, but we are hoping there will be a mayoral election in 2024.
“The Directly Elected Mayor of Limerick will not be like the current mayoral set up, which is ceremonial. The mayor from 2024 on will be a person that will have influence and power, and more importantly, money will be delegated locally into the districts and we will be able to set our own budgets.
“We will have control over policing, water services, which is a very topical issue at the moment as well as housing, which is a huge challenge,” the Newcastle West area representative commented.
Cllr Collins considers it very forward-thinking for Limerick to have the first DEM. He is hopeful we will see it happen sooner than later.
During an interview in the office of his Newcastle West auctioneering business, Collins, who will be 20 years in the Council in 2024, said it is hugely important that we get the right person to fill the DEM role.
“The gender balance thing is topical at the moment. Local authorities and government are trying to strengthen local government with females and I welcome that. We have a number of female councillors who are very active and it gives a good balance within the Council. So I would be all for that,” he added.
The Killeedy man heading into his fifth local election next year, and was part of the working group that put together the document on how a Directly Elected Mayor should operate and work.
“That was chaired by Dr Tim O’Connor and we had people from all walks of life in the working group. I think we put a good package together, just as long as the Government doesn’t again dilute what we think and feel the Mayor of Limerick should be.
“I am all for democracy, but again it is to get the balance right where a person would have some sort of political experience and would have the public experience as well, and be able to deal with the public, can deal with council officials, and probably more importantly, can deal with with government and officials in Dublin, which is often the most difficult part,” he concluded.
