Former senator Mr Michael Mulcahy of Fianna Fail, was last night elected by the city council as the new Lord Mayor of Dublin. He takes over from outgoing Lord Mayor Mr Maurice Ahern.
Elected as Deputy Mayor was former Democratic Left TD Mr Eric Byrne, of the Labour Party.
In the continuing Fianna Fail-Labour pact, Cllr Mulcahy received 33 votes. Cllr Ruairi McGinley, Fine Gael, got nine votes; Cllr Vincent Jackson, Community, five votes, and Cllr Christy Burke, Sinn Fein, received four votes. On his election, Mr Mulcahy said: "As Dublin swells and grows, there will be increasing demands on every aspect of our infrastructure, from sewage, water, waste disposal, traffic, housing, and transport. We face major challenges in shaping and forming the social and infra structural landscape of our city."
However, "infrastructural improvements will be of no benefit if the quality of life actually deteriorates", he said. Changes and developments must be harnessed to "enhance the quality of Dubliners' lives, not to destroy it".
Mr Byrne said he would "like to be in a position to involve the citizens of Dublin more in the democratic functioning of local government". He said he, hoped, with the assistance of the city manager and the Lord Mayor's office, to "convene a people's forum, which will meet on several occasions".
Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour, the Green Party, Sinn Fein and the Independents' group all paid tribute to the performance throughout the past year of outgoing Lord Mayor, Mr Maurice Ahern, and his wife, Moira.
Mr Mulcahy said Mr Ahern's "commitment, first articulated in his election night speech, to start the clean-up of the city, was a promise well-kept. Operation Clean-Up was launched in May to mobilise the entire city for a three-year (once and for all) clean-up of the city".
Mr Ahern said the highlights of his year in office included representing Dublin at the Sydney Olympic Games. He was especially proud to introduce Operation Clean-Up, the anti-litter programme for Dublin, whose first stage he described as a "huge success".
Protesters from Sinn Fein, the Workers' Party and residents' groups gathered outside the meeting in City Hall to object to service charges.