Dublin City Council · Special City Council Meeting Tuesday 23 September 2025 · 23 September 2025
A vote on two motions taken together, both seeking a plebiscite on a directly elected mayor for Dublin. One calls on the Minister for Local Government to name a date for it, and the other calls on the council's corporate policy group to recommend that the council hold one.
Summary written by AI from the minutes. The motion as recorded follows.
Motion No. 1 in the name of Councillor Cian Farrell Dublin City Council calls upon the Minister for Local Government to honour the recommendation of the Citizen's Assembly on local government in Dublin and name a date for a plebiscite on the creation of the position of directly elected Mayor for Dublin city. Dubliners deserve and indeed need stronger local government including a directly elected Mayor to provide and implement a vision for our city. The intention to hold a plebiscite has been declared by government for some time without naming a date and it is past time for Dubliners to be offered the same opportunity to determine our own governance as has been offered to other smaller municipal areas across the country. Motion No. 16 in the name of Councillor Ray Cunningham This council notes that the Dublin Citizens Assembly met in 2022 and recommended that a plebiscite of the local electorate of Dublin be held as to whether or not Dublin should have a directly elected Mayor. Part 6 of the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions 9 - 12 Act 2024 specifies that such a plebiscite may be initiated by the local authority. This council calls on the corporate policy group to submit a report to the full council recommending the holding of such a plebiscite.
Proposed by Councillor Cian Farrell (Motion No. 1); Councillor Ray Cunningham (Motion No. 16).
The minutes record: Motions No. 1 and 16 were taken together as they dealt with the same subject. The motions were put to a vote and were carried. Details of the vote are attached in Appendix A to these minutes.
| Party | Tá | Níl | Staon | Didn't vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine Gael | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Social Democrats | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Independent | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Sinn Féin | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Fianna Fáil | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Green Party | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Labour Party | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| People Before Profit-Solidarity | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Right to Change | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tá, Níl and Staon are the minutes’ for, against and abstained. “Didn’t vote” covers councillors on the council that day whom the minutes don’t list under any option, for any reason. Parties are as of the meeting day.