I thank the Acting Chair and Members for their time and patience on the Bill. It is significant legislation, not only for the people of Limerick but for Ireland overall. This will be the first democratically elected mayor. I thank Members for their work. I signal to the House that, having given the matter further consideration, it is currently my intention to possibly bring forward an amendment to the Land Development Agency Act on Report Stage. This amendment concerns additional funding for the LDA. Officials in m…

I thank the Acting Chair for the efficiency in how he has conducted the debate. It is hugely important. It was a constructive debate with all Members.

We debated this at great length last week and it was a very informative debate. My position remains unchanged. I remind the House that the Schedule covers various Acts that have come in over many years. One does not expect a Minister to effectively implement all the provisions of a Bill; that is the work of the staff in the Department. It is the same position here. The mayor will drive policy. I do not want the mayor getting bogged down in detail. The role of the mayor involves driving policy and development plans …

Amendments Nos. 9 and 10 basically state that the councillors, by resolution, could remove items from Part 2 of Schedule 1. That is not what the people voted for. What is listed on Schedule 2 is probably large in number but it is only a reflection of legislation that has come in over various areas that remain with the DG and is what was put to the people. I accept the point but I must be true to what the people voted for. We can beg to differ on it. That is my final comment.

I understand the broad thrust of these amendments to section 17 from the Civil Engagement Group is to ensure the mayor would not be a member of the council or have voting rights and also that the mayor is accountable to the council. I appreciate the Senator's rationale. However, it is at odds with the report of the independent advisory group chaired by Tim O'Connor, which the Government accepted and is implementing in this Bill. I confirm the elected council will retain its primacy, if that is the concern, and that…

I thank the Senator for deciding to leave aside amendments Nos. 14 and 15. On amendment No. 16, section 17(1) of the Bill states "The Mayor shall be, ex officio, a member of Limerick City and County Council". Section 17(4) states: A member of the elected council attending a meeting of Limerick City and County Council may ask questions of the Mayor in relation to the performance by him or her of his or her functions and the Mayor shall answer such questions. The mayor is therefore accountable to the chamber and ther…

That is fine. I thank the Senator.

Amendments No. 17 from the Civil Engagement Group and No. 18 from Sinn Féin and the Labour Party aim to change the manner in which the staff of the mayor are appointed. The appointment of staff to the office of the mayor was the subject of much debate in the Dáil, both on Committee Stage and Report Stage. The Bill, as published, provides that the director general would appoint the office staff, in line with their responsibility for staffing matters. I believe it is critically important to have a well-functioning ma…

I will speak to amendments Nos. 19, 20, 88 to 91, inclusive, 95, and 138 to 143, inclusive. These are minor technical and drafting amendments. Amendments Nos. 88 to 91, inclusive, and 95 to existing sections 65 and 66 are of a technical drafting nature and there is no change to the substantive provisions therein. The collective citation of the Affordable Housing Acts has been relocated to section 1 of the Bill. Amendments Nos. 19 and 20 to sections 23 and 25 are for the purpose of ensuring consistency of language a…

Amendments Nos. 21 to 23, inclusive, from the Civil Engagement Group relate to the appointment of a director general in Limerick City and County Council. They propose a process that is not in line with current legislation and also that the mayor would have a role in that appointment. The appointment of a chief executive, and by extension a director general, is a reserved function of the local authority under section 145 of the Local Government Act 2001, wherein following a Public Appointments Service process, the c…

Delegated.

I thank Senators Higgins and Cummins for their comments. I will speak to Amendments Nos. 24 to 27, inclusive, from the Civil Engagement Group because they all relate to delegation of functions by the mayor. Amendment No. 24 proposes that delegation of executive functions by the mayor to the director general should be subject to a resolution by the elected members. Any executive function that the mayor delegates to the director general is subject to the supervision and control of the mayor. The function remains a fu…

I thank Senator Higgins and the Civil Engagement Group. I will deal with what our response is and we can expand on that. I will speak to amendment No. 28 and amendments Nos. 67 to 74, inclusive, as they have been grouped for discussion. The intention of amendment No. 28 is to extend the definitions in Part 4 by adding a reference to the United Nations sustainable development goals, as defined initially in that body's 2030 agenda for sustainable development. A central element in the State's long-term planning strate…

Regarding the Project Ireland 2040 delivery board, which is what we are dealing with in this section, the Limerick city and county development plan, the national development plan, the national planning framework and climate change mitigation measures are mentioned. Furthermore, the UN sustainable development goals are built into national, regional and local frameworks such as the national development plan, the regional spatial and economic strategies and the city and county development plans, and they will help to …

Each local authority is required under the climate action legislation to produce climate action plans for five years. Limerick City and County Council is currently preparing its action plan and it will include all the sustainable goals. It is there. We have a planning Bill going through. It is all about a tiered system that flows from the top down. The UN sustainability goals are automatically incorporated into the Limerick city and county plan. Furthermore, they will be included in the climate action plan. The Sen…

Amendments Nos. 29 to 39, inclusive, are grouped for discussion as they relate to the Limerick mayoral and government consultative forum, and I will address these together. Amendments Nos. 29 to 34, inclusive, propose an expansion in the membership requirements for the forum to include the príomh chomhairleoir as well as two members of the elected council, and to transfer the role of chair from the Minister to the príomh chomhairleoir. Amendment No. 37 is a consequential amendment to amendment No. 34. The function …

I thank the House. This is important legislation, and I very much look forward to engaging with Members on it. We have an election due to take place on the same day as the local and European elections. I look forward to working with the House and enjoying its co-operation in getting the Bill through as expeditiously as possibly, although with a proper debate on the Bill, obviously. I thank the Acting Chairperson for his introduction. These amendments are miscellaneous or consequential to the Long Title. Two miscell…

I appreciate that. To all Senators, to Senators Gavan, Higgins, Fitzpatrick and Maria Byrne, I appreciate the late time. These amendments are not related to the directly elected mayor, DEM. They are being brought in because there is an immediate need to increase funding around housing both to the LDA and to increase the borrowing capacity of the Housing Finance Agency. I have looked for more detail. I will read out a further briefing which I will circulate to you but it is self-explanatory. The LDA's 2024 to 2028 b…

I thank the Senators. Amendment No. 3 is in the name of the Civil Engagement Group and relates to the provisions for holding the mayoral election and the structures associated with the office and would require those sections to be commenced within three months of the passing of the Act. I recognise the intent of the amendment. As a former councillor, and one who was granted the privilege of becoming a Member of this House by councillors, I am aware of the phenomenal work they do. I have enormous respect for council…

The Cabinet made a decision when the Bill was published that it would be held on the same day as the local elections. Obviously, that date has to be fully determined, but it is a window between 6 June and 9 June.