Dublin could be the envy of Europe and become the greenest city on the continent by the year 2020, according to the Green party's local election manifesto.
Speaking at the launch of A Green Vision for Dublintoday, party leader Mr Trevor Sargent, blamed poor local government and corrupt planning for Dublin's association with urban sprawl and traffic congestion.
"In this vision we are setting out ways in which we can end the corruption in planning in Dublin. For many of us it has been very very bruising and I speak personally on that basis," Mr Sargent said.
The manifesto proposes having a directly elected mayor in Dublin for five years.
"We are sick of the tweedledum tweedledee mayor. Like Lannigan's ball stepping in and stepping out with the support of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and Labour. We want to see the power vested in the people to directly elect their mayors," Mr Sargent said.
Ms Patricia McKenna MEP outlined the need for a viable public transport system and the restoration of civic spaces by redesigning them around "people rather than the motorcar".
"If we are looking for people to move back into the city, we can't be asking people to move back into a city which heavily polluted with traffic fumes," Ms Patricia McKenna said.
Ms Kristine McElroy, the Green party candidate for Dublin City said, "Linking up our two new Luas lines should be the first step in turning College Green into one of the most spectacular piazzas in the whole of Europe."
Other proposals in the Green Party manifesto are a national park in the Dublin mountains, a coastal walkway and cycleway from Bray to Balbriggan, and linear parks along the Liffey, Dodder and Tolka valleys.
