Sir, – The headline in Arthur Beesley's article asks "Will Dublin ever introduce an elected mayor?" (Weekend Review, March 12th)
That question suggests a possible yes or no answer. However the thrust of the article seems to be “how to make this a yes?”. All of the people interviewed and quoted appear to be in favour. I wonder if the proposed citizens’ assembly is also a mechanism to assist in getting this across the line.
Is there nobody out there willing to ask whether this is a good idea? The idea that a directly-elected mayor could solve all the problems of housing, transport etc in Dublin is fanciful.
Transferring powers to deal with these issues from existing bodies to another entity will not overcome the difficulties in dealing with these issues.
Also, Dublin is such a large element of the overall State that a directly-elected mayor with all of the suggested powers allocated to him or her would be a rival to the national government, totally unbalancing the democratic system of the State.
Comparisons with London or New York are not valid in this context. I hope the citizens’ assembly will examine the right questions. – Yours, etc,
AIDAN HODSON
Kimmage,
Dublin 12.