Dublin's elected mayor will not only have to be an energetic dynamo, but will also need a deep well of patience. Draft legislation suggests the job will be all about advice, guidance and co-ordination rather than real power, writes
KATHY SHERIDAN
THE DUBLIN Chamber of Commerce had a dream. The year is 2020 and the Chamber is reflecting on a triumphant few years for the ground-breaking "Mayor of Greater Dublin". The photograph in the Chamber's brochure represents her as young-ish, female, with nice, expensive lowlights in her hair - in short, nothing like Ruari Quinn or Gay Mitchell. The "biography" of their ideal Mayor, published in a 2004 brochure, doesn't resemble anyone we know either.
"Imagine a native Dubliner, with direct experience of the Irish and American political systems, now in her second term as Mayor of Greater Dublin. Dublin's Mayor was first elected in 2013 and re-elected with an increased majority in the 2018 election. A native of Dublin's inner city, her background included a degree in Politics and Economics from an American university, part-time membership of a Police Cadet force in US city, and an active role as a campaigner with leading politicians in Major and Presidential elections in the USA. . .
"Her busy day can include items such as the budget allocation for the next five years investment in transport, meetings with the Transport Regulator on reviews of the bus route tendering system, and possible amendments to the regional housing density regulations. Much of her time is spent with incoming delegations from other international cities, whose main question is generally 'How did Dublin become such an international success'?"
The Dublin Chamber of Commerce has been nurturing the dream for 20 years and today, they get their wish as the Minister for the Environment, and Local GovernmentJohn Gormley lays out draft legislation outlining the future powers of the office.
The title will be Mayor for Dublin for a start, although he or she will reign over the Dublin region. And that wishful focus on transport budgets in their ideal mayor's busy day may be a tad overcooked for now.
The Bill promises only a "key role" in relation to transport and traffic management. At one stage, the Minister suggested that a directly-elected Dublin mayor might have the power to introduce a congestion charge here. Even then, that seemed doubtful, since all he or she was guaranteed was the chairmanship of the Dublin Transport Authority (DTA). But even that isn't going to happen, since the DTA has been replaced by the National Transport Authority, with a new chairman, former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald, appointed by Gormley in December. The mayor may have to settle for being just another board member of the NTA.
This is the issue most likely to trigger the loudest protests. Last week, the chief executive of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Gina Quin, gave her top three priorities for the elected mayor: they were transport, economic strategy and greater efficiency in all the services. Ruairi Quinn, often mentioned as a front runner for the office (if he runs), also gave "control of transport" as a prerequisite, along with strategic power in relation to structural planning.
The other issue likely to draw fire is the lack of provision for a Mayoral budget. When asked if he would run, Bertie Ahern suggested an office with no spending money of its own was no use: "If you continue with the system that the mayor has to go down to the department for money, then there's no point in having a mayor." Ruairi Quinn also sees the need for "a local budget, some kind of revenue base". Fine Gael's Lucinda Creighton anticipates the office would be "toothless" without a budget or revenue-raising powers to implement policies.
John Gormley would, no doubt, say this is churlish. Given that no other party has tried serious local government reform for more than 100 years (fierce vested interests tend to intervene), any Bill must be welcome. And this 300-page document is a serious attempt to add a measure of local government that is answerable, real and meaningful. The Minister's view is that, for too long, we have had no proper local government, merely local administration.
The obvious strategy is to hasten slowly. The Bill contains a provision for a review of the role and function of the mayor after two years, when the mayor will be entitled to put his or her views to the minister for further enhancement or changes. Much will depend on the calibre, authority and ambition of the chosen one.
Meanwhile, the Minister would contend, the mayor can manage without a budget because operational matters will reside with the four Dublin local authorities, who will work within the framework laid down by the mayor. The proposers of the legislation do not envisage a mayor who will fix potholes, but one who will stick with setting out and implementing a vision for the city and region.
The draft legislation also gives a specific mandate to the mayor to advise the Dublin local authorities on service delivery, costs and charges. The mayor must be consulted on the Dublin local authority budgets, and the local authorities will be obliged to take into account any views put forward by the mayor. He or she will establish policy for the Dublin Region in land-use planning - and therefore housing - waste management, and water services.
The legislation will allow the mayor to implement the policies which he, and the revamped Dublin Regional Authority, lay down.
And the mayor will also chair a Regional Development Board which will include major public sector, educational and enterprise interests from across the Dublin Region.
The central idea of the legislation is to tackle the system whereby very powerful managers - whose powers are much greater than those of the elected representatives - drive the engine of local government. The main weapon will be what is considered to be the mayor's greatest power: to "direct" local authorities.
While the ideal new mayor is envisaged to be a driven, energetic dynamo, there's no doubt that he or she will also need a deep well of patience and forbearance to drive consensus. Much of the function appears to be about advice, guidance and co-ordination rather than power; persuasion and consultation rather than coercion.
The phrase, "shall have regard to" [ the mayor's views], crops up repeatedly where the local authorities are concerned. For example, on budgets and contracts, the mayor - "having consulted the local authority" - "may provide written advice on the efficient use of resources in the delivery of local services and the setting of local rates or other charges and the local authorities shall have regard to that advice".
In the case of regional housing, there is a provision for the authority to be consulted in the preparation of the housing services' plans: "Housing authorities are obliged to have regard to the Mayor's policies".
What precisely does "have regard to" mean? Will a strong-willed council manager "have regard to" policy that will swing the axis of power in the mayor's direction? How often will the mayor use his or her power to "direct"? Will it be used as a matter of course or only in extremis? In any case, whatever the initial limitations of the office, it will be extremely influential, says one council veteran.
"It's mainly power in the form of influence, speaking up for the region. There won't be anything terribly new here but things will be tightened up. When the mayor calls somebody in, they'll probably come in. So much depends on the personality of the person. If you get a persuasive, consensus politician, it could be very good. But if it's a person who is fractious, there is the potential for blood on the walls and for no good reason other than ego."
The problem is that for those with an eye on the big picture, the mayor's bill is only a fraction of what needs to be done to reform local government. Health, education, welfare and policing remain centralised, national services.
The hope is that John Gormley's white paper, promised before the summer, may remedy that.
Who's in the running?
WHATEVER ABOUT the real powers of the new mayor for Dublin, the job will certainly carry influence - and a few sweeteners that may be attractive to a range of aspirants.
It offers a ministerial-size salary, the assistance of a chief executive officer and a "cabinet" of sorts, along with, no doubt, trappings such as a chauffeured car (though probably not an official residence), and endless possibilities for travel on the mission to market Dublin.
For older, established "names", it offers a well-paid, dignified opportunity, a chance at putting his or her own stamp on a new job, with huge potential for augmenting its powers while being a champion for Dublin. For less well-known candidates, the campaign alone promises an unparalleled profile-building opportunity.
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD, has said he would only think about it if the mayor had "full executive powers . . . When I say full powers, [ they include] the powers to raise taxes". So he's out then, though on current figures, the pundits say, he wouldn't win anyway.
Other names believed to be ruminating include Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell and Labour TD Ruairi Quinn. Last week, an obviously enthusiastic Quinn mentioned as a pre-requisite for the job "extra special powers", such as control of transportation policy, as well as a "local budget and a revenue base".
As the bookies' favourite, much depends on his interpretation of the new mayor's powers, announced today.
Other politicians whose names have been thrown in the mix include the former Lord Mayor of the city Eibhlin Byrne and Tallaght-based backbencher Charlie O'Connor, both of Fianna Fáil.
Irish Times columnist Noel Whelan reckons a strong candidate will emerge from among the current independent or far-left councillors or TDs and suggests Mannix Flynn, the artist, anti-abuse campaigner and new Dublin South Inner City councillor as one to watch.
A People Before Profit Alliance councillor and a leader of the Socialist Workers Party, Brid Smith, is the only declared candidate so far. Her top three ideas are to transform Dublin into a "People's City", to oppose water charges and to reinstate the bin charges waiver.
As for the Greens, they're saying little. Architect, environmental campaigner and broadcaster Duncan Stewart has been mentioned in dispatches, however, as someone with both profile and political experience.
Labour councillors Dermot Lacey (a former city lord mayor) and Kevin Humphries, the Labour leader on Dublin City Council have also been mentioned, as has Conor Lenihan, as a long odds possibility for Fianna Fáil.
Of course, there is nothing to prevent a run-out by non-party citizens - or "people ordinarily resident in the state" - such as Gina Quin, chief executive of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, or the heavyweight former Dublin City manager, John Fitzgerald. All they need is to be over 18 and have €1,800 and the signatures of 60 "assentors".
How other cities do it: New York and London
THE MAYOR of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of the city's government. Run as a "strong" mayor-council system, its government is more centralised than most US cities.
The New York mayor is responsible for public education, correctional institutions, libraries, police and fire protection, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply and welfare services. He or she is responsible for the enforcement of all city and state laws within the city, which includes all five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, and bills must be signed by the mayor before they become law. The budget overseen by his office is the largest municipal budget in the US at $50 billion (€37 billion) a year (it would be the 24th largest in the world by expenditure if it were a country).
The current mayor is the three-term, 67-year-old Michael Bloomberg, the richest man in New York, who accepts just a dollar a year of the $225,000 mayoral salary and prefers his own house to theofficial residence. He has "amassed so much power and respect . . . he seems more a Medici than a Mayor", according to the New Yorker magazine. Self-made, affable and plain-spoken, the former Democrat elected as a Republican and since turned Independent, presides over a city where crime is low, school test scores are climbing and racial tension hardly registers.
The mayor of London, the 25-member London Assembly - a watchdog body elected at the same time as the mayor - and about 700 support staff together make up the Greater London Authority (GLA). They administer the 1,579 kilometres of Greater London, covering the 32 London boroughs and the City of London. The mayor of London is seen as London's spokesman, and has an £11.3 billion (€12.9 billion) budget to run public transport, police and fire services and promote the capital's economy.
For an annual salary of £143,911 (€164,181), the mayor sets the annual budget and appoints all or some of the boards of public bodies. The entertaining, accident-prone, Conservative Boris Johnson succeeded Ken Livingstone as mayor in 2008. His achievements have included the banning of alcohol on tubes, buses and trams, more police at transport hubs, an appearance on EastEnders and one major scalp - that of the London Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair.
Although the office can't hire and fire the commissioner, Sir Ian felt he had no choice but to go when Johnson, elected by Londoners, said he had no confidence in him.
